Coalition of the Radical Left
Encyclopedia
The Coalition of the Radical Left , commonly known by its Greek abbreviation ΣΥΡΙΖΑ (SYRIZA), is a coalition of left
political parties
in Greece
. In 2007–2009 its parliamentary
leader was Alekos Alavanos
, former president of Synaspismos, the largest party to be a member of the coalition.
, the process that ended up in its formation can be traced back to the Space for Dialogue for the Unity and Common Action of the Left (Greek: Χώρος Διαλόγου για την Ενότητα και Κοινή Δράση της Αριστεράς) in 2001. The "Space" was composed of various organizations of the Greek Left that, despite different ideological and historical backgrounds, shared common political action in several important issues that had risen in Greece at the end of the 1990s, such as the Kosovo War
, privatization
s, social rights, etc.
The "Space" provided the common ground from which the participating parties could work together on issues such as:
Even though the "Space" was not a political organization, but rather an effort to bring together the parties and organizations that attended, it gave birth to some electoral alliances for the local election of 2002
, the most successful being the one led by Manolis Glezos
for the super-prefecture
of Athens-Piraeus. The "Space" also provided the common ground from which several of the member parties and organizations launched the Greek Social Forum, part of the larger European Social Forum
.
. Most of the participants of the "Space", sought to develop a common platform that could lead to an electoral alliance
. This led to the eventual formation of the Coalition of the Radical Left, in January 2004.
The parties that originally formed the Coalition of the Radical Left in January 2004 were:
Although the Communist Organization of Greece
(KOE) had participated in the "Space", it decided not to take part in the Coalition.
In the election, the Coalition gathered 241,539 votes (3.3% of the total) and elected six members to parliament. All six were members of Synaspismos, the largest of the coalition parties. This led to much tension within the Coalition.
After the 2004 election, the smaller parties accused Synaspismos of not honoring an agreement, to have one of its members of parliament resign so that Yannis Banias of AKOA would take his seat. Tension built up and resulted in the split of the Internationalist Workers Left
and the formation of Kokkino, both of which remained within the Coalition. The frame of the crisis within SYRIZA was the reluctance of Synaspismos to adopt and keep the political agreement for a clear denial of "Centre-left politics".
Three months after the legislative election, Synaspismos chose to run independently from the rest of the Coalition for the 2004 elections
for the European Parliament
and some of the smaller parties of the Coalition supported the feminist Women for Another Europe (Greek: Γυναίκες για μια άλλη Ευρώπη) list..
The crisis ended in December 2004 with the 4th convention of Synaspismos, when the large majority within the party voted for the revitalization of the Coalition. This change of attitude was further intensified with the election of Alekos Alavanos, a staunch supporter of the Coalition, as president of Synaspismos, after its former leader, Nikos Konstantopoulos
stepped down.
The Coalition solidified further with the successful organization of the 4th European Social Forum in May 2006 in Athens, as well as with a number of largely successful coalition tickets, such as in Athens and Piraeus, for the 2006 local election
. The ticket for the municipality of Athens was led by the 30 year old Alexis Tsipras
, proposed by Alavanos who declared Synaspismos's "opening to the new generation".
The Coalition of the Radical Left was the big surprise in the 2007 Greek legislative election (16 September 2007), increasing their votes by 120,000 and gaining an unexpected 5,04%. Opinion polls had already indicated that the Coalition was expected to make significant gains in the election, with predictions ranging from 4% to 5% of the electorate.
Prior to the election, in 22 June, the participating parties had agreed on a common declaration. The signed Declaration of the Coalition of the Radical Left, outlined the common platform on which the Coalition would compete in the following election and outlined the basis for the political alliance.
The Coalition of 2007 has also expanded from its original composition in 2004. On 20 June 2007, the Communist Organization of Greece (KOE) announced its participation into the Coalition. On August 21 the environmentalist
Ecological Intervention (Greek: Οικολογική Παρέμβαση), also joined, and on 22 August 2007, the Democratic Social Movement
(DIKKI), also announced its own participation to the Coalition.
On 2 September The Areios Pagos
refused to include the title of DIKKI in the electoral alliance of SYRIZA claiming that the internal procedures followed by DIKKI were flawed. This was criticised furiously by SYRIZA and DIKKI as inappropriate interference in party political activity on behalf of the courts.
With the aforementioned additions, the Coalition currently comprises the following parties (in alphabetical order):
Another 4 MPs had been elected under the flag of SYRIZA in the last elections, but since June 2010 they don't belong to the coalition's parliamentary group. Being members or sympathizers of Ananeotiki ("Renewing Wing" - SYN's socialdemocratic platform), they declared themselves independent a few days after the party's 6th Congress rejected Ananeotiki's demands to disband SYRIZA. The four MPs are:
for party president in 10 February 2008. Alavanos retained the parliamentary leadership of SYRIZA, as Tsipras currently serves as a municipal councilman for the municipality of Athens. However, Tsipras has achieved considerable popularity with the Greek electorate, which has led to a significant increase in support for SYRIZA in opinion polls, as much as 18 percent.
In end of June 2008, Xekinima announced that it would join the coalition.
During the run-up to the European Parliament election, 2009
SYRIZA, amid turbulent internal developments, saw its polling numbers dive to a final 4,7%, an unexpected result that sent only one SYRIZA candidate (Nikos Hountis) to the European Parliament. This caused renewed internal strife, leading to the resignation of former Synaspismos president Alekos Alavanos
from his seat in the Greek parliament, a resignation that was however recalled in a few days .
In Greek legislative election, 2009
SYRIZA ,rather unexpectedly, retained its strength and returned 13 MPs to the Greek parliament.
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
political parties
Political Parties
Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. In 2007–2009 its parliamentary
Hellenic Parliament
The Hellenic Parliament , also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece....
leader was Alekos Alavanos
Alekos Alavanos
Alekos Alavanos is a Greek politician, member of the Hellenic Parliament, former member of the European Parliament. From 2004 until 2008 he was president of the Coalition of the Left of Movements and Ecology, commonly known as Synaspismos...
, former president of Synaspismos, the largest party to be a member of the coalition.
Formation
Although SYRIZA is typically regarded to have been launched before the legislative election of 2004Greek legislative election, 2004
Legislative elections were held in Greece on March 7, 2004. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek Parliament, the Vouli . The New Democracy Party of Kostas Karamanlis won a decisive victory in the elections, ending eleven years of rule by the Panhellenic Socialist Movement .PASOK was led into the...
, the process that ended up in its formation can be traced back to the Space for Dialogue for the Unity and Common Action of the Left (Greek: Χώρος Διαλόγου για την Ενότητα και Κοινή Δράση της Αριστεράς) in 2001. The "Space" was composed of various organizations of the Greek Left that, despite different ideological and historical backgrounds, shared common political action in several important issues that had risen in Greece at the end of the 1990s, such as the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
s, social rights, etc.
The "Space" provided the common ground from which the participating parties could work together on issues such as:
- Neoliberal reform of the pension and social security systems
- Opposition to new anti-terrorist laws
- The preparation of the Greek participation at the 2001 international demonstration in Genoa27th G8 summit-Overview:The Group of Seven was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada starting in 1976. The G8, meeting for the first time in 1997, was formed with the addition...
.
Even though the "Space" was not a political organization, but rather an effort to bring together the parties and organizations that attended, it gave birth to some electoral alliances for the local election of 2002
Greek local elections, 2002
The 2002 Greek local elections elected representatives to Greece's super-prefectures, 54 prefectures, provinces, and approximately 1,033 communities and municipalities.The local elections in Greece traditionally occur during the month of October....
, the most successful being the one led by Manolis Glezos
Manolis Glezos
Manolis Glezos is a Greek left wing politician and writer, worldwide known especially for his participation in the World War II resistance.- 1939 - 1945 :...
for the super-prefecture
Super-prefectures of Greece
The super-prefectures of Greece were a second-degree organization of local self-government and an administrative division between the regions and the prefectures. They were each headed by an elected but largely ceremonial super-prefect, with most of the prefectural duties performed by the prefects...
of Athens-Piraeus. The "Space" also provided the common ground from which several of the member parties and organizations launched the Greek Social Forum, part of the larger European Social Forum
European Social Forum
The European Social Forum is a recurring conference held by members of the alter-globalization movement . In the first few years after it started in 2002 the conference was held every year, but later it became biannual due to difficulties with finding host countries...
.
2004 general election
The defining moment for the birth of SYRIZA came with the legislative election of 2004Greek legislative election, 2004
Legislative elections were held in Greece on March 7, 2004. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek Parliament, the Vouli . The New Democracy Party of Kostas Karamanlis won a decisive victory in the elections, ending eleven years of rule by the Panhellenic Socialist Movement .PASOK was led into the...
. Most of the participants of the "Space", sought to develop a common platform that could lead to an electoral alliance
Electoral alliance
An electoral alliance may take the form of a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc. It is an association of political parties or individuals which exists solely to stand in elections...
. This led to the eventual formation of the Coalition of the Radical Left, in January 2004.
The parties that originally formed the Coalition of the Radical Left in January 2004 were:
- SynaspismosCoalition of the Left, of Movements and EcologyThe Coalition of the Left of Movements and Ecology is a Greek political party of the radical new left. It is commonly known simply as Synaspismos and abbreviated to SYN...
(SYN) - Renewing Communist Ecological LeftRenewing Communist Ecological LeftRenewing Communist Ecological Left is a political party in Greece. It was formed mostly by members of the late eurocommunist-influenced KKE Interior.In the 2000 parliamentary elections AKOA supported Synaspismos...
(AKOA) - Internationalist Workers LeftInternationalist Workers' Left (Greece)The Internationalist Workers' Left is a revolutionary marxist organization in Greece, founded in 2001, having split from Socialist Workers' Party-International Socialist Tendency ....
(DEA) - Movement for the United in Action LeftMovement for the United in Action LeftMovement for the United in Action Left is a political party in Greece that is part of the Coalition of the Radical Left.KEDA was formed in the early 2000s, by a splinter group of major party officials of the Communist Party of Greece , most prominently Yiannis Theonas and Mitsos Kostopoulos...
(KEDA) (a split of the Communist Party of GreeceCommunist Party of GreeceFounded in 1918, the Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party on the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...
) - Active Citizens (a political organisation associated with Manolis GlezosManolis GlezosManolis Glezos is a Greek left wing politician and writer, worldwide known especially for his participation in the World War II resistance.- 1939 - 1945 :...
) - Other independent left-wing groups or activists
Although the Communist Organization of Greece
Communist Organization of Greece
The Communist Organization of Greece is a left-wing Greek political party of Maoist origins that was founded in 2003. The KOE's ideology is revolutionary Marxism, supporting Marxist ideology with all the historical experience of the Communist Movement....
(KOE) had participated in the "Space", it decided not to take part in the Coalition.
In the election, the Coalition gathered 241,539 votes (3.3% of the total) and elected six members to parliament. All six were members of Synaspismos, the largest of the coalition parties. This led to much tension within the Coalition.
Crisis and revitalization
Internationalist Workers' Left (Greece)
The Internationalist Workers' Left is a revolutionary marxist organization in Greece, founded in 2001, having split from Socialist Workers' Party-International Socialist Tendency ....
and the formation of Kokkino, both of which remained within the Coalition. The frame of the crisis within SYRIZA was the reluctance of Synaspismos to adopt and keep the political agreement for a clear denial of "Centre-left politics".
Three months after the legislative election, Synaspismos chose to run independently from the rest of the Coalition for the 2004 elections
European Parliament election, 2004 (Greece)
The European Parliament election of 2004 in Greece for the election of the delegation from Greece to the European Parliament took place on June 13. The election system used in Greece was a party-list proportional representation with a 3% threshold for any party...
for the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
and some of the smaller parties of the Coalition supported the feminist Women for Another Europe (Greek: Γυναίκες για μια άλλη Ευρώπη) list..
The crisis ended in December 2004 with the 4th convention of Synaspismos, when the large majority within the party voted for the revitalization of the Coalition. This change of attitude was further intensified with the election of Alekos Alavanos, a staunch supporter of the Coalition, as president of Synaspismos, after its former leader, Nikos Konstantopoulos
Nikos Konstantopoulos
Nikos Konstantopoulos is a Greek politician, member of the Hellenic Parliament and former president of the left-wing Synaspismos.Born in 1942 in the village of Krestena, near Olympia, Konstantopoulos studied law in the University of Athens...
stepped down.
The Coalition solidified further with the successful organization of the 4th European Social Forum in May 2006 in Athens, as well as with a number of largely successful coalition tickets, such as in Athens and Piraeus, for the 2006 local election
Greek local elections, 2006
The 2006 Greek local elections elected representatives to Greece's 3 super-prefectures, 54 prefectures, provinces, and approximately 1,033 communities and municipalities.The elections took place on Sunday, 15 October 2006 from 7am to 7pm....
. The ticket for the municipality of Athens was led by the 30 year old Alexis Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras is a Greek left wing politician, member of the Hellenic parliament, president of the Synaspismos political party and head of SYRIZA parliamentary group.-Early life and career:Tsipras was born July 28, 1974, in Athens....
, proposed by Alavanos who declared Synaspismos's "opening to the new generation".
2007 general election
Prior to the election, in 22 June, the participating parties had agreed on a common declaration. The signed Declaration of the Coalition of the Radical Left, outlined the common platform on which the Coalition would compete in the following election and outlined the basis for the political alliance.
The Coalition of 2007 has also expanded from its original composition in 2004. On 20 June 2007, the Communist Organization of Greece (KOE) announced its participation into the Coalition. On August 21 the environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
Ecological Intervention (Greek: Οικολογική Παρέμβαση), also joined, and on 22 August 2007, the Democratic Social Movement
Democratic Social Movement
The Democratic Social Movement is a Greek democratic socialist political party...
(DIKKI), also announced its own participation to the Coalition.
On 2 September The Areios Pagos
Court of Cassation (Greece)
The Court of Cassation is the Supreme Court of Greece for civil and criminal law. The Court of Cassation's decisions are irrevocable. If the Court of Cassation concludes that a lower court violated the law or the principles of the procedure, then it can order the rehearing of the case by the lower...
refused to include the title of DIKKI in the electoral alliance of SYRIZA claiming that the internal procedures followed by DIKKI were flawed. This was criticised furiously by SYRIZA and DIKKI as inappropriate interference in party political activity on behalf of the courts.
Participating parties
- Active CitizensActive CitizensActive Citizens is a left-wing political party in Greece and member of the SYRIZA political coalition. Its most prominent delegate is Manolis Glezos, former member of the Hellenic Parliament under the flag of EDA and the man who replaced the Nazi flag with a Greek one on the Acropolis during World...
(Ενεργοί Πολίτες), Democratic SocialismDemocratic socialismDemocratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
, PatriotismPatriotismPatriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy... - Communist Organization of GreeceCommunist Organization of GreeceThe Communist Organization of Greece is a left-wing Greek political party of Maoist origins that was founded in 2003. The KOE's ideology is revolutionary Marxism, supporting Marxist ideology with all the historical experience of the Communist Movement....
(KOE), MaoismMaoismMaoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
, CommunismCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production... - Democratic Social MovementDemocratic Social MovementThe Democratic Social Movement is a Greek democratic socialist political party...
(DIKKI), Social democracySocial democracySocial democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
, SocialismSocialismSocialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,... - Ecosocialists of Greece, Eco-socialismEco-socialismEco-socialism, green socialism or socialist ecology is an ideology merging aspects of Marxism, socialism, green politics, ecology and alter-globalization...
, LeftLeft-wing politicsIn politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
EcologyEcologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems... - Internationalist Workers' LeftInternationalist Workers' Left (Greece)The Internationalist Workers' Left is a revolutionary marxist organization in Greece, founded in 2001, having split from Socialist Workers' Party-International Socialist Tendency ....
(DEA), Revolutionary socialismRevolutionary socialismThe term revolutionary socialism refers to Socialist tendencies that advocate the need for fundamental social change through revolution by mass movements of the working class, as a strategy to achieve a socialist society...
, CommunismCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, TrotskyismTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class... - Red (Κόκκινο), CommunismCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, TrotskyismTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class... - Movement for the United in Action LeftMovement for the United in Action LeftMovement for the United in Action Left is a political party in Greece that is part of the Coalition of the Radical Left.KEDA was formed in the early 2000s, by a splinter group of major party officials of the Communist Party of Greece , most prominently Yiannis Theonas and Mitsos Kostopoulos...
(KEDA), CommunismCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production... - Renewing Communist Ecological LeftRenewing Communist Ecological LeftRenewing Communist Ecological Left is a political party in Greece. It was formed mostly by members of the late eurocommunist-influenced KKE Interior.In the 2000 parliamentary elections AKOA supported Synaspismos...
(AKOA), Democratic socialismDemocratic socialismDemocratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
, EurocommunismEurocommunismEurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy and less aligned to the influence or control of the Communist Party of the Soviet...
, GreenGreen politicsGreen politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy... - Radical Left Group Roza
- Synaspismos (SYN), Democratic socialismDemocratic socialismDemocratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
, EurocommunismEurocommunismEurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy and less aligned to the influence or control of the Communist Party of the Soviet...
, Renewalism, GreenGreen politicsGreen politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
, Eco-socialismEco-socialismEco-socialism, green socialism or socialist ecology is an ideology merging aspects of Marxism, socialism, green politics, ecology and alter-globalization...
, Social progressivism, Alter-globalizationAlter-globalizationAlter-globalization is the name of a social movement that supports global cooperation and interaction, but which opposes the negative effects of economic globalization, feeling that it often works to the detriment of, or does not... - Xekinima - Socialist Internationalist OrganisationXekinima - Socialist Internationalist Organisation-Foundation:Xekininma's roots can be traced to the mid-1970’s when Greek society was going through major upheavals, and was seen by many as moving to left-radical policies as a result of the collapse of the military dictatorship and the international situation....
(CWI), MarxismMarxismMarxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, TrotskyismTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class... - and several independent leftist activists
Electoral results
| Results since 2004 (year links to election page) |
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| Year | Type of Election | Votes | % | MPs | ||||
| 2004 Greek legislative election, 2004 Legislative elections were held in Greece on March 7, 2004. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek Parliament, the Vouli . The New Democracy Party of Kostas Karamanlis won a decisive victory in the elections, ending eleven years of rule by the Panhellenic Socialist Movement .PASOK was led into the... |
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| 2009 European Parliament election, 2009 (Greece) The European Parliament election of 2009 in Greece for the election of the delegation from Greece to the European Parliament in 2009 took place on June 7, 2009. The election system used in Greece is party-list proportional representation with a 3% threshold for any party... |
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| 2009 Greek legislative election, 2009 Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 4 October 2009. An election was not required until September 2011.On 2 September Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis announced he would request President Karolos Papoulias to dissolve Parliament and call an election... |
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Parliamentary representation
SYRIZA currently occupies 9 seats in the Greek parliament. Given that the coalition's support is higher in the major cities, most of their MPs come from the metropolitan areas of Athens, Piraeus and Thessalonica.- National list: Vassilis Moulopoulos
- Athens AAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
(city): Alexis TsiprasAlexis TsiprasAlexis Tsipras is a Greek left wing politician, member of the Hellenic parliament, president of the Synaspismos political party and head of SYRIZA parliamentary group.-Early life and career:Tsipras was born July 28, 1974, in Athens.... - Athens B (suburban area): Dimitrios PapadimoulisDimitrios PapadimoulisDimitrios Papadimoulis is a Greek politician and former Member of the European Parliament for Synaspismos as a member of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left. Since 2009 he serves as a MP for the Greek parliament....
- Piraeus APiraeusPiraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
(city): Thodoris DritsasThodoris DritsasThodoris Dritsas is a Greek politician and activist. He was elected MP of the Greek Parliament in Piraeus with Coalition of the Radical Left in the 2007 Greek legislative election.... - Piraeus B (suburban area): Panagiotis Lafazanis
- Thessalonica AThessalonikiThessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
(city): Tasos Kourakis - Thessalonica BThessaloniki PrefectureThessaloniki is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Region of Central Macedonia. Its capital is the city of Thessaloniki. It is the second most populous regional unit in Greece, behind Central Athens.-Geography:...
(prefecture, excl. city of Thessalonica): Litsa Ammanatidou-Pashalidou - HeraklionHeraklion PrefectureHeraklion is one of the four regional units of Crete. The capital is the city of Heraklion.-Geography:The regional unit of Heraklion borders on the regional units of Rethymno to the west and Lasithi to the east. Farmlands are situated in the central and the northern parts, at the coast and in...
: Mihalis Kritsotakis - LarissaLarissa PrefectureLarissa is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Thessaly. Its capital is the city of Larissa. -Geography:...
: Iro Dioti
Another 4 MPs had been elected under the flag of SYRIZA in the last elections, but since June 2010 they don't belong to the coalition's parliamentary group. Being members or sympathizers of Ananeotiki ("Renewing Wing" - SYN's socialdemocratic platform), they declared themselves independent a few days after the party's 6th Congress rejected Ananeotiki's demands to disband SYRIZA. The four MPs are:
- Athens B (suburban area): Fotis Kouvelis, Grigoris Psarianos
- AtticaAtticaAttica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
(excl. Athens, Piraeus and suburbs): Thanasis Leventis - AchaeaAchaeaAchaea is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The capital is Patras. The population exceeds 300,000 since 2001.-Geography:...
: Nikos Tsoukalis
Recent developments
In 27 November 2007, Alavanos announced that he would not apply for a renewal of his presidency of Synaspismos, due to private reasons. The 5th party congress of Synaspismos elected 33 year old Alexis TsiprasAlexis Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras is a Greek left wing politician, member of the Hellenic parliament, president of the Synaspismos political party and head of SYRIZA parliamentary group.-Early life and career:Tsipras was born July 28, 1974, in Athens....
for party president in 10 February 2008. Alavanos retained the parliamentary leadership of SYRIZA, as Tsipras currently serves as a municipal councilman for the municipality of Athens. However, Tsipras has achieved considerable popularity with the Greek electorate, which has led to a significant increase in support for SYRIZA in opinion polls, as much as 18 percent.
In end of June 2008, Xekinima announced that it would join the coalition.
During the run-up to the European Parliament election, 2009
European Parliament election, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...
SYRIZA, amid turbulent internal developments, saw its polling numbers dive to a final 4,7%, an unexpected result that sent only one SYRIZA candidate (Nikos Hountis) to the European Parliament. This caused renewed internal strife, leading to the resignation of former Synaspismos president Alekos Alavanos
Alekos Alavanos
Alekos Alavanos is a Greek politician, member of the Hellenic Parliament, former member of the European Parliament. From 2004 until 2008 he was president of the Coalition of the Left of Movements and Ecology, commonly known as Synaspismos...
from his seat in the Greek parliament, a resignation that was however recalled in a few days .
In Greek legislative election, 2009
Greek legislative election, 2009
Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 4 October 2009. An election was not required until September 2011.On 2 September Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis announced he would request President Karolos Papoulias to dissolve Parliament and call an election...
SYRIZA ,rather unexpectedly, retained its strength and returned 13 MPs to the Greek parliament.
External links
- Coalition of the Radical Left
- Active Citizens
- Communist Organization of Greece
- Democratic Social Movement
- Ecological Intervention
- Internationalist Workers Left
- Kokkino
- Movement for the United in Action Left
- Popular Unions of Bipartisan Social Groups
- Renewing Communist Ecological Left
- Synaspismos
- Xekinima