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From shipping investor to Greek political leader?

Photo: Syriza Stefanos-Kasselakis .png
A fresh-faced 35-year old expat Greek shipping investor, has made headline reading this week after he declared his intention to run for the leadership of Syriza, Greeceā€™s main opposition party, becoming the fifth candidate to enter the race.

Stefanos Kasselakis submitted his candidacy in a letter to the Prefectural Committee of Chania, Crete on 28 August several days after he was rumoured to be preparing to enter the race.

Syriza members will elect a new leader 10 September and if  necessary in a second round of voting on 16 September, among the declared candidates. Syrizaā€™s leadership change comes after former Prime Minister and party founder, Alexis Tsipras, resigned after the leftist partyā€™s defeat in two elections in May and June.

With a four-minute-20-second video and a 560-word text, Kasselakis launched his candidacy for the Syrzia leadership, bidding to step outside the narrow party geographic boundaries.

Kasselakis, who has lived and worked in the United States was a candidate for the Syriza party state-wide list in the general elections of 2023 but was not elected. According to Kasselakisā€™ CV, he also worked as a volunteer on the staff of then-Senator Joe Biden in the 2018.

He is positioning himself as a self-made man who supports social equality, the separation of church and state and the abolition of compulsory army service.

ā€œI am aware that I have no political party experience. My experience is in work and social life. The candidacy I am now putting forward shows another path: From society [and] for society. Several generations have been lost. The time has come to build the Greek Dream that we so desperately need,ā€ he said in a post on social media.

Kasselakis has not been highlighting details of his investment in Tiptree Marine, SwiftBulk and SwiftTanker ā€” entities currently without ships.

TAGS: Europe