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Revision as of 09:17, 26 May 2014

Syriza
LeaderAlexis Tsipras
Founded2004 (as alliance)
22 May 2012 (as party)[1][2]
Headquarters39 Valtetsiou,
106 81 Athens,
Greece
IdeologyDemocratic socialism[3]
Eco-socialism[3][4]
Anti-capitalism[3]
Alter-globalization[4]
Secularism[5]
Libertarian socialism[6]
Eurocommunism[7]
Feminism[8]
Political positionLeft-wing to Far-left[9][10]
European affiliationParty of the European Left (member), European Anticapitalist Left (observer)
European Parliament groupEuropean United Left–Nordic Green Left
ColoursPink and Orange
SloganΑνοίγουμε δρόμο στην ελπίδα / Anígume drómo stin elpída (We open a way to hope)
Parliament
71 / 300
European Parliament
6 / 21
Regions [11]
17 / 725
Website
www.syriza.gr

The Coalition of the Radical Left[12] (Template:Lang-el, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás), known colloquially by its acronym SYRIZA (Template:Lang-el, pronounced [ˈsiɾiza]), is a left-wing political party in Greece, originally founded as a coalition of left-wing and radical left parties.

The coalition comprises a broad array of groups (thirteen in total) and independent politicians, including democratic socialists and green left groups, as well as Maoist, Trotskyist, and eurocommunist organisations. Its parliamentary leader is Alexis Tsipras, president of Synaspismós, the largest party in the coalition.

In 2012 SYRIZA became the second largest party in the Greek parliament and the main opposition party. It came in first in the 2014 European Parliament election.[13]

Syriza's parliamentary leader, Alexis Tsipras

History

Formation

Although Syriza was formally launched before the legislative election of 2004, the roots of the process that led to 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.[14] The "Space" was composed of various organisations of the Greek Left that, despite different ideological and historical backgrounds, had shared common political action in several important issues that had arisen in Greece at the end of the 1990s, such as the Kosovo War, privatizations, social and civil rights,[15] 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 organisation, but rather an effort to bring together the parties and organisations that attended, it gave birth to some electoral alliances for the local election of 2002,[17] 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,[18] part of the larger European Social Forum.

2004 general election

The defining moment for the birth of Syriza came with the legislative election of 2004. Most of the participants of the "Space" sought to develop a common platform that could lead to an electoral alliance.[19] This led to the eventual formation of the Coalition of the Radical Left, in January 2004.[20]

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 [why?].[21]

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 Synaspismós, the largest of the coalition parties. This led to much tension within the coalition.

Crisis and revitalisation

Alekos Alavanos

After the 2004 election, the smaller parties accused Synaspismós of not honoring an agreement to have one of its members of parliament resign so that Yannis Banias of the AKOA could take his seat.[22] 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 Synaspismós to adopt and maintain the political agreement for a clear denial of "centre-left politics".

Three months after the legislative elections, Synaspismós 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.[23]

The crisis ended in December 2004 with the 4th convention of Synaspismós, when a large majority within the party voted for the revitalization of the coalition.[24] This change of attitude was further intensified with the election of Alekos Alavanos, a staunch supporter of the coalition,[25] as president of Synaspismós, after its former leader, Nikos Konstantopoulos, stepped down.

The coalition was further strengthened by the successful organization in May 2006 of the 4th European Social Forum in Athens, as well as by a number of largely successful election campaigns, such as those in Athens and Piraeus, during the local elections of 2006. The coalition ticket in the municipality of Athens was headed by the 30-year-old Alexis Tsipras, proposed by Alavanos who declared Synaspismós's "opening to the new generation".

2007 general election

The Coalition of the Radical Left was the big surprise in the 2007 Greek legislative election (16 September 2007), increasing its 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.[26]

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.[27]

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.[28] On August 21 the environmentalist Ecological Intervention (Greek: Οικολογική Παρέμβαση) also joined,[29] and on 22 August 2007, the Democratic Social Movement (DIKKI) also announced its own participation to the Coalition.[30]

On 2 September the Areios Pagos refused to include the title of DIKKI in the Syriza electoral alliance, claiming that the internal procedures followed by DIKKI were flawed. This was criticised furiously by both Syriza and DIKKI as inappropriate interference by the courts in party political activity.[31]

Developments 2007–2011

Six party leaders' televised debate ahead of the 2009 Greek legislative elections. Alexis Tsipras, the leader of Syriza, is in the centre.

In 27 November 2007, Alavanos announced that, for private reasons, he would not be seeking to renew of his presidency of Synaspismós.[32] The 5th party congress of Synaspismós elected 33-year-old Alexis Tsipras, a municipal councillor for the municipality of Athens, as party president on 10 February 2008. Alavanos retained the parliamentary leadership of Syriza, however, as Tsipras was not at that time a member of parliament. Tsipras achieved considerable popularity with the Greek electorate, which led to a significant increase in support for Syriza in opinion polls – up to 18 percent at its peak.[33]

At the end of June 2008, Xekinima announced that it would join the coalition.[34]

During the run-up to the 2009 European Parliamentary elections Syriza, amid turbulent internal developments, saw its poll share dive to 4.7%, with the result that only one Syriza candidate (Nikos Hountis) was elected to the European Parliament. This caused renewed internal strife, leading to the resignation of former Synaspismós president Alekos Alavanos from his seat in the Greek parliament, a resignation that was, however, withdrawn a few days later.[35]

In the Greek legislative elections of October 2009, Syriza won 4.6% of the vote (slightly below its 2007 showing), returning 13 MPs. These included Tsipras, who took over as Syriza's parliamentary leader.

In June 2010, the Ananeotiki ("Renewing Wing") of radical social democrats in Synapsismós split away from the party, at the same time leaving Syriza. This reduced Syriza's parliamentary group to 9 MPs. The 4 MPs who left formed a new party, the Democratic Left.

2012 general elections

In a move of voters away from the parties which participated in the coalition government under the premiership of Lucas Papademos in November 2011, Syriza gained popular support in the opinion polls, as did the Communist Party of Greece and the Democratic Left. Opinion polls in the run-up to the May 2012 election showed Syriza with 10-12% support.[36] The minor Unitary Movement (a PASOK splinter group) also joined the coalition in March 2012.

In legislative elections in May 2012, the party polled over 16% and quadrupled its number of seats, becoming the second largest party in parliament, behind New Democracy.[37] After the election, Tsipras was invited by the president of Greece to try to form a government, but failed to form a government of the Left owing to a lack of parliamentary numbers. Subsequently, Tsipras rejected a proposal by the president to join a coalition government with the pro-austerity parties.[38]

For the second general election in June 2012, Syriza re-registered as a single party (adding the "Unitary Social Front" moniker) instead of as a coalition, in order to be eligible to receive the 50 "bonus" seats given to the largest polling party under the Greek electoral system.[39] However, although Syriza increased its share of the vote to just under 27%, New Democracy polled 2.8% more than Syriza and claimed the bonus. With 71 seats, Syriza became the main opposition party, facing a governing coalition of ND, PASOK, and the Democratic Left.

2013 Party Congress

A Congress of SYRIZA was held in July 2013. Important outcomes included a decision in principle to dissolve the participating parties in SYRIZA in favour of a unitary party. However, implementation was deferred for three months to allow time for four of the parties which were reluctant to dissolve to consider their positions. Tsipras was confirmed as leader with 74% of the vote. However delegates supporting the Left Platform (Greek: "Αριστερή Πλάτφορμα") led by Panayiotis Lafazanis, which wants to leave the door open to quitting the euro, secured 30%(60) of the seats on SYRIZA's central committee.[40] A modest success was also claimed by the "Communist Platform" (Greek section of the International Marxist Tendency), who managed to get two members elected to the party's central committee.[41]

Shadow cabinet

In 2012, Syriza appointed a "shadow cabinet" (Greek: "σκιώδης κυβέρνηση") of spokespersons and advisors for articulating the party's position in opposition to the coalition government.[42]

Constituent parties

Coalition supporters in a 2007 rally. Flags of Synaspismós, AKOA, DIKKI, and Kokkino can be seen, as well as those of the coalition itself.

SYRIZA as a unitary party was formed through the merger of the following parties (in alphabetical order in English):[43]

Electoral results

Parliament

Election year # of overall votes % of overall vote # of overall seats won +/- Notes
2004 241,539 3.3 (#4)
6 / 300
2007 361,211 5.0 (#4)
14 / 300
 Increase 8
2009 315,627 4.6 (#5)
13 / 300
 Decrease 1
2012 (May) 1,061,265 16.8 (#2)
52 / 300
 Increase 39
2012 (Jun) 1,655,053 26.9 (#2)
71 / 300
 Increase 19

European Parliament

Election year # of overall votes % of overall vote # of overall seats won +/- Notes
2009 240,898 4.7
1 / 22
2014 26.55
7 / 21
 Increase 6

European parliament

Syriza holds 1 seat in the European parliament.

References

  1. ^ "Greece's left-wing SYRIZA submits application for party status"
  2. ^ http://www.tanea.gr/ellada/article/?aid=4723068
  3. ^ a b c Nordsieck, Wolfram, "Greece", Parties and Elections in Europe, retrieved 15 March 2012
  4. ^ a b c Backes, Uwe; Moreau, Patrick (2008), Communist and Post-Communist Parties in Europe, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, pp. 571–575 Cite error: The named reference "BackesMoreau" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ http://greece.greekreporter.com/2013/01/28/syriza-wants-state-break-with-church/
  6. ^ Wellbrook, Christopher (2013), Libertarian Socialism: Politics in Black and Red, Palgrave Publishers, p. 67
  7. ^ "An eye-witness report from SYRIZA's founding congress". Workers Power.
  8. ^ Peppr, Red. "Greece: Syriza shines a light -- radical left organises for power". 2, May, 2014.
  9. ^ Callinicos, Alex (2012), The second coming of the radical left, International Socialist journal
  10. ^ Featherstone, Kevin (2012), Greece implodes as protests drown out its European vocation, LSE Research Online
  11. ^ The counselors of the Regions.
  12. ^ "Greece's leftists now officially called Coalition of the Radical Left (in English)". Kathimerini. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  13. ^ http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_25/05/2014_540009
  14. ^ "Press conference of the "Space"". Synaspismos. 2001-05-15. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  15. ^ Greece, Syriza promises rights for migrants and gays Il grande colibrì, 2012-06-14
  16. ^ Overcoming division, article by Georges Mitralias, June 2001
  17. ^ "A catalogue of such electoral alliances". Η Εποχή. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  18. ^ "Greek Social Forum". Hellenic Social Forum. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  19. ^ Synaspismós press release, 17 December 2003
  20. ^ 15/01/2004 Article from the Greek language edition of the BBC
  21. ^ KOE press release, February 2004
  22. ^ 28/09/2004 article by the newspaper Epohi
  23. ^ 23/05/2004 article by the newspaper Epohi
  24. ^ Chapter 9 of the Political Decisions of the 4th convention of the Synaspismos
  25. ^ Alavanos' main convention speech at the convention
  26. ^ See the relevant Wikipedia entry
  27. ^ Full text of the Declaration
  28. ^ "Στον ΣΥΡΙΖΑ προσχώρησε η Κομμουνιστική Οργάνωση Ελλάδας". in.gr. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  29. ^ Ecological Intervention press release[dead link‍]
  30. ^ DIKKI press release[dead link‍]
  31. ^ 2/9/2007 DIKKI press release[dead link‍]
  32. ^ "Synaspismos press release". Synaspismos. 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  33. ^ Governing New Democrats Still Lead in Greece, Angus Reid article.
  34. ^ Χριστίνα Ζιάκα (2008-06-10). "Απόφαση του Ξεκινήματος για συμμετοχή στο Συριζα" (in Greek). Ξεκίνημα. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  35. ^ "Alavanos reverses decision". HR-Net. 2009-06-23. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  36. ^ Next Greek legislative election
  37. ^ Xypolia, Ilia (May 2012). "Sorry, folks..the wake is over". London Progressive Journal. Retrieved 15 October 2012. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  38. ^ "Greek radical left leader rejects coalition talks: official". Reuters. 2012-05-13. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  39. ^ "Ενιαίο κόμμα ο ΣΥΡΙΖΑ (SYRIZA a single party)" (in Greek). Ta Nea. 22 May 2012.
  40. ^ "Tsipras still leader but rifts remain". Kathimerini. 15 July 2013.
  41. ^ http://www.marxist.com/syriza-an-opportunity-for-change-of-programme-and-tactics.htm
  42. ^ http://www.madata.gr/epikairotita/politics/206597.html
  43. ^ List of participants from the Coalition's website|date=August 2013
  44. ^ http://www.antirropondeos.gr/
  45. ^ http://www.marxismos.com/
  46. ^ Anagnostou, Dia (2006), "Deepening Democracy or Defending the Nation? The Europeanisation of Minority Rights and Greek Citizenship", Politics and Policy in Greece, Routledge, p. 128
  47. ^ "Greece: Directory", Central and South-Eastern Europe 2004, Europa Publications, p. 294, 2003
  48. ^ a b c Magone, José M. (2003), The Politics of Southern Europe: Integration into the European Union, Praeger Publishers, p. 152
  49. ^ Magone, José M. (2003), The Politics of Southern Europe: Integration into the European Union, Praeger Publishers, p. 151
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