Popular Unity (Greece)
Popular Unity - Insubordinate Left (Greek: Λαϊκή Ενότητα - Ανυπότακτη Αριστερά (ΛΑΕ - AA), Laïkí Enótita - Anipótakti Aristera, LAE - ΑΑ) is a left-wing[4][5] political party in Greece.
Popular Unity Λαϊκή Ενότητα - Ανυπότακτη Αριστερά | |
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Abbreviation | ΛΑΕ (LAE) |
Leaders | Dimitris Stratoulis, Marianna Tsixli |
Founded | 21 August 2015 |
Split from | SYRIZA |
Ideology | Socialism[1][2] Euroscepticism[1][2][3] |
Political position | Left-wing[4][5] to far-left[1][6] |
National affiliation | MeRA25 |
Colours | Red |
Slogan | 'ΟΧΙ στο Ευρώ της καταστροφής! (NO to the disastrous Euro!) |
Hellenic Parliament | 0 / 300 |
European Parliament | 0 / 21 |
Regional Governors | 0 / 13 |
Regional Councilors | 11 / 703 |
Party flag | |
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Website | |
laiki-enotita | |
Popular Unity was founded on 21 August 2015 by twenty five parliamentarians formerly affiliated to the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza),[4] as a reaction to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' handling of the Greek bailout agreement of 2015.
History
Popular Unity was founded on 21 August 2015 by 25 parliamentarians formerly affiliated to the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza),[4] as a reaction to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' handling of the Greek bailout agreement of 2015. At foundation Popular Unity was the third largest party in the Greek parliament.[7] It is led by the former Minister of Energy in the Tsipras cabinet, Panagiotis Lafazanis.[8] Dimitris Stratoulis (former Alternate Minister of Social Security) and Costas Isychos (former Alternate Minister of National Defence), who were sacked in July 2015,[9] also joined the new party.
September 2015 election
On 2 September 2015, the party programme for the snap election on September 20 was published.[10] The party received about 2.9% of the vote, below the 3% threshold to win any seats in parliament. In response to the result the party said, 'we lost the game but not the war'.[11]
2023 election
Popular Unity contested the 2023 legislative elections in a coalition with MeRA25, as part of the "Alliance for Rupture".[12]
Naming
The name of the party is inspired by Popular Unity, the Chilean political alliance led by Salvador Allende.[13]
Policies
The party favours Greek withdrawal from the eurozone and reinstating the drachma as Greece's national currency.[4] According to founding member Stathis Kouvelakis, a former member of Syriza's Central Committee, the new party supports socialist internationalism, pacifism, Greece's exit from NATO, and breaking military agreements with Israel.[7]
Election results
Hellenic Parliament
Election | Hellenic Parliament | Rank | Leader | ||||
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Votes | % | ±pp | Seats won | +/− | |||
September 2015 | 155,320 | 2.86% | New | 0 / 300 |
N/A | #9 | Panagiotis Lafazanis |
2019 | 15,930 | 0.28% | -2.58 | 0 / 300 |
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#13 |
European Parliament
European Parliament | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Election | Votes | % | ±pp | Seats won | +/− | Rank | Leader |
2019 | 31,671 | 0.56% | N/A | 0 / 21 |
#22 | Panagiotis Lafazanis |
Members of Parliament
Popular Unity had 26 members of the Hellenic Parliament prior to the September 2015 election, all of whom defected from Syriza. In alphabetical order, they were:[14]
- Litsa Ammanatidou-Paschalidou
- Despina Haralambidou
- Kostas Delimitros
- Evangelos Diamantopoulos
- Ioanna Gaitani
- Ilias Ioannidis
- Kostas Isihos
- Thomas Kotsias
- Michail Kritsotakis
- Vassilios Kyriakakis
- Aglaia Kyritsi
- Panagiotis Lafazanis
- Costas Lapavitsas
- Stathis Leoutsakos
- Rachil Makri
- Evgenia Ouzounidou
- Thanasis Petrakos
- Elena Psarrea
- Stefanos Samoilis
- Thanasis Skoumas
- Ioannis Stathas
- Dimitrios Stratoulis
- Alexandra Tsanaka
- Nadia Valavani
- Zissis Zannas
- Ioannis Zerdelis
References
- "Introducing Popular Unity". Jacobin Magazine. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- Nordsieck, Wolfram (2015). "Greece". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019.
- "Lafazanis: Greek rebel with a eurosceptic cause". EUBusiness. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- "Greece crisis: Syriza rebels form new Popular Unity party". BBC News. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- "SYRIZA rebels clash with gov't as parties prepare to draft candidate lists". Kathimerini. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- "Greece's new far-left party to seek mandate to form govt". Kathimerini. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- Kouvelakis, Stathis (21 August 2015). "Introducing Popular Unity". Jacobin Magazine.
- Yardley, Jim (21 August 2015). "In a Twist, Europe May Find Itself Relying on Success of Alexis Tsipras of Greece". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- "Greece PM opts for limited reshuffle". ekathimerini-com. Kathimerini. July 17, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
- Text in Greek: http://laiki-enotita.gr/component/k2/item/134-o-panagiotis-lafazanis-parousiazei-tin-programmatiki-diakiryksi-tis-laikis-enotitas, News in English: https://www.veooz.com/news/AJdMlHY.html, Table of content + some quotations in German: http://theoriealspraxis.blogsport.de/2015/09/03/das-wahlprogramm-der-griech-lae-volkseinheit/.
- Solanke, Simi (20 September 2015). "Popular Unity: Not Popular Enough to Take a Seat in Greek Parliament". Greekreporter.com. Greek Reporter. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- Kouvelakis, Stathis (19 May 2023). "Greece's Radical Left Is Fighting to Overcome Syriza's Legacy". Jacobin. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- "Greece rebels form new party ahead of snap polls". AFP. 21 August 2015. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- "MPs > Per Parliamentary Group > LAIKI ENOTITA". Hellenic Parliament. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- Stathis Kouvelakis; Thomas Lemahieu (27 August 2015). "Aucune illusion sur le carcan de l'euro". L'Humanité (in French). Retrieved 2015-09-04.
External links
- Official website
(in Greek)
- Iskra
- Plan B
- The R Project