An Athens court on Thursday convicted Stefanos Kasselakis, the leader of the Movement for Democracy party, and gave him a suspended prison sentence of 30 months. The court also slapped him with a 50,000 euro fine over a discrepancy in the wealth declaration he submitted while he was president of leftist opposition SYRIZA.
Politicians, journalists and other public or high-profile figures are required to submit an annual declaration listing all of their assets, including the balance of their bank accounts, stock holdings, etc., as well as any businesses or business partnerships they may be involved in.
Charges were brought against Kasselakis after it was discovered that he had a company in the United States at the time that he became SYRIZA’s leader in September 2023 and did not cease this activity after he was elected. This, under Greek law, represents a conflict of interest. He also failed to include his business activities in his so-called “pothen esches” declaration.
Additional charges were brought against him when it emerged that he had used money from the US company to cover expenses at SYRIZA, which is also illegal under Greek law.
In his defense, the 37-year-old financial-analyst-turned-politician, who had spent most of his adult life in the US, said that he had not been aware of the restrictions of the law and the demands of the declaration.
Stefanos Kasselakis became widely known in Greece in the summer of 2023 when he launched a barrage of social media posts and videos and announced his candidacy for the SYRIZA-PA leadership.
His political ideas and speeches became popular on social media, as they lacked the toxicity that has marred Greece’s political scene in the past few years.
Kasselakis looked like the most unlikely person to qualify. He came from a wealthy family with businesses in the US, had worked for Goldman Sachs, and had no experience whatsoever in politics, much less with the Greek Left.
Yet his air of confidence, approach to the common people, and his slogan “I am the only one who can beat Mitsotakis” gelled with many SYRIZA voters. His visits to schools, hospitals and impoverished neighborhoods, and his friendly talks with random people he met on the street, made him a popular figure in the media.
In September 2023, he won the second round ballot, defeating Efi Achtsioglou, and became leader.
However, his tenure lasted just one year until the Central Committee of the party voted to oust him in September 2024. 163 members agreed with the censure motion, with just 123 expressing their support for the leader.
SYRIZA had been facing trouble and seemed to be nearing collapse, with party MPs vehemently divided over the leadership of Kasselakis. Opinion polls showed that the party that governed Greece in the 2015-2019 period was—and still is—in single-digit figures.
