Greece’s opposition Syriza party splits as several prominent members defect

By DEMETRIS NELLAS
Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s main opposition party has suffered a split after a left-wing faction announced it was breaking away, accusing the party’s recently elected leader of abandoning its core ideology for a sort of “right-wing populism.” Umbrella, a faction led by a former minister from Syriza’s government of 2015-19, accused party leader Stefanos Kasselakis of “Trumpian practices (and) right-leaning populism.” Kasselakis, a longtime US resident who had no connections with Syriza until last May, came out of nowhere to capture the party leadership in September. The once-dominant party has been in disarray ever since it was resoundingly defeated in two successive elections in May and June.