Ecologist Greens
Encyclopedia
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
Green
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
ecologist political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
. It has existed since 2002, yet the ecologist movement in Greece dates many years and was characterised by a reluctance to actively become involved in the political scene. They are a member of the European Green party.
History
The Ecological Forum, the body that lead to the establishment of the party, was founded after a proposal of the local group Ecological Movement of ThessalonikiEcological Movement of Thessaloniki
Ecological Movement of Thessaloniki , is the oldest living eco-political group of Greece. It was founded in 1982, by an initial core of people with ecological sensitivities who wanted to turn them into action...
, and brought together members of the organization "Green Politics" , the previous Greek member of the European Green Party
European Green Party
The European Green Party is the Green political party at European level. As such it is a federation of green parties in Europe.-History:...
, with other local ecological groups and independent ecologists.
On 7-8 December 2002, the Eco Forum called for a conference that convened in the building of the Athens Lawyer Association, and it decided to establish the Green Ecologists and elected a 18 member council to coordinate the establishment of a new political entity. In the coming months, focus groups were created to shape the constitution and the political positions of the body, which were adopted by the first congress of the party in May 2003 at Panteion University
Panteion University
The Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences , usually referred to simply as the Panteion University, is a university located in Athens, Greece...
.
2006 prefectural elections
In the prefectural elections of 2006, the Greens supported 2 combinations, the "Eco-Athens" in the municipality of Athens, that took 1.4% of the votes and "Ecology Solidarity" that won 4.6% and acquired 2 seats on the Departmental Council in the prefecture of Thessaloniki, as well as 53 other municipal and County sets in rest of the country.2007 national elections
At its 5th Congress in March 2007, the party decided to contest the 2007 Greek legislative election. Nanos ValaoritisNanos Valaoritis
Nanos Valaoritis is one of the most distinguished writers in Greece today. He has been widely published as a poet, novelist and playwright since 1939, and his correspondence with George Seferis has been a bestseller...
, a distinguished living Greek poet, became the party's leading candidate in the 2007 Greek legislative election. The inclusion of additional artist candidates (such as sculptors, painters) indicate that the party enjoys some support among the Greek art community.
2008 Congress
During 29 & 30 of March 2008 the annual congress of the party took place in Athens at the Gini building of the National Technical University of AthensNational Technical University of Athens
The National Technical University of Athens , sometimes simply known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest and most prestigious higher education institutions of Greece....
(NTUA). The annual congress is the highest political entity of the party and was attended by a record of 235 members. Members of the party are recently (September 2008) reaching 700. With the 2007 Greek legislative election, its first general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, the party became the sixth largest party in Greece and the largest party without parliamentary representation.
The Ecologist Greens today
In the December 6-7-8 Party General Assembly it was decided to contest the 2009 summer European Elections and the list of party candidates was elected. The Ecologist Greens managed to elect an MEPMember of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
in the European Elections of June 2009, but they narrowly failed to gain representation in the national elections that followed in October 2009. Nevertheless, their share of the vote increased to 2.53% gaining approximately 100,000 more votes than in the 2007 Greek legislative election.
Aims
The basic principles of the Ecologists Greens, as determined by their constitution are: sustainabilitySustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
, social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, nonviolence
Nonviolence
Nonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
, direct
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
and participatory democracy
Participatory democracy
Participatory Democracy, also known as Deliberative Democracy, Direct Democracy and Real Democracy , is a process where political decisions are made directly by regular people...
, respect for diversity
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
, decentralization
Decentralization
__FORCETOC__Decentralization or decentralisation is the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and/or citizens. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy,...
and subsidiarity
Subsidiarity
Subsidiarity is an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority. The Oxford English Dictionary defines subsidiarity as the idea that a central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks which...
, protect and restore natural ecosystems, the quality of life, personal and social responsibility
Social responsibility
Social responsibility is an ethical ideology or theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual or organization has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the...
and equity
Equity (economics)
Equity is the concept or idea of fairness in economics, particularly as to taxation or welfare economics. More specifically it may refer to equal life chances regardless of identity, to provide all citizens with a basic minimum of income/goods/services or to increase funds and commitment for...
.
Electoral results
| Results since 2004 (year links to election page) |
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| 2004 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... |
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| 2006 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.... |
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| 2006 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.... |
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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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| 2010 Greek local elections, 2010 The 2010 Greek local elections were held on 7 November 2010 and 14 November 2010 to elect representatives to Greece's restructured local authorities, comprising 13 regions and 325 municipalities.-Background:... |
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