Greece’s left-wing opposition party slips into crisis as lawmakers quit in defiance of new leader
By DEREK GATOPOULOS
Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s main left-wing opposition party, Syriza, has suffered a damaging setback as nine lawmakers quit the party in protest against its newly elected leadership. Effie Achtsioglou, a former Syriza labor minister, led Thursday’s walkout as nine lawmakers declared themselves independent. Party critics have described the new leader, 35-year-old Miami-based businessman Stefanos Kasselakis as intolerant of dissent and unable to reach a policy consensus in the historically fractured party. In recent opinion polls, Syriza has slipped from second place to third, boosting the dominance of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ conservative government.