Drassi (, "Action") was a
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
political party in Greece
Prior to the 2012 elections the characteristic Greek political system was a two-party system. The historically dominant parties have been New Democracy and the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). Under the electoral system a party needs to ...
. The party was founded in 2009 by
Stefanos Manos and was led by former
New Democracy
New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that was decisively distinc ...
member
Theodoros Skylakakis
Theodoros Skilakakis (born October 18, 1959) is Alternate Minister for Fiscal Policy of the Hellenic Republic in the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, where he holds the portfolio of Government Expenditure. He is also a former Greek MEP, me ...
.
The party had no representation in the
Hellenic Parliament or
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
. Drassi was a member of the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) party.
History
Stefanos Manos left
New Democracy
New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that was decisively distinc ...
(ND) in 1999 to found
The Liberals, before later running on ND and
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...
(PASOK) electoral lists in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
and
2004 respectively. Unlike The Liberals, Drassi was not founded as an expressly liberal party, but claims to espouse "
common sense
''Common Sense'' is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected various moral and political arg ...
" as an ideological basis.
In its first contested election, the
2009 European elections, Drassi finished ninth with 0.8% of the vote. It subsequently did not participate in the
general election in October 2009.
In the
May 2012 legislative election, Drassi ran in
electoral alliance
An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections.
E ...
with the
Liberal Alliance. It won 1.8% of the vote finishing twelfth overall, directly behind the
Democratic Alliance and
Recreate Greece
Recreate Greece ( el, Δημιουργία, Ξανά, translit=Dimiourgia, Xana, , ) is a Greek right-wing political party, which has adopted an ideology heavily focused on anti-immigration, anti-Islam and anti-communism.
History
Founded in Decem ...
, which both had similar liberal ideologies to Drassi. Ahead of new elections in
June 2012 legislative election, Drassi and the Liberal Alliance formed an electoral pact with Recreate Greece, while the Democratic Alliance, which they had also approached,
[ refused to join them and ran on the ]New Democracy
New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that was decisively distinc ...
list instead.
In the 2014 European elections
Fourteen or 14 may refer to:
* 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15
* one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014
Music
* 14th (band), a British electronic music duo
* ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013
*''14'', an unrel ...
, Drassi ran in electoral alliance
An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections.
E ...
with Recreate Greece.
On 5 January 2015, Drassi's leader Skylakakis and the leader of The River party, Stavros Theodorakis, gave a press conference announcing a joint electoral list for the January 2015 legislative election.
On 3 September 2015, Drassi decided to again support The River in the upcoming snap September 2015 legislative election.
In January 2017, Drassi decided to migrate with ND.
In February 2019, Drassi was suspended.
Ideology
Drassi was in favor of a small and flexible government through the decrease of the portion of Greek government expenses the party considers unnecessary. Moreover, the party supported privatizations of public assets, using the proceeds for the repayment of undervalued Greek debt in secondary capital markets.
Drassi had been described by the media as a "pro-business-party" supporting free-market reforms.
Electoral results
* In alliance with Liberal Alliance
** In alliance with Recreate Greece
Recreate Greece ( el, Δημιουργία, Ξανά, translit=Dimiourgia, Xana, , ) is a Greek right-wing political party, which has adopted an ideology heavily focused on anti-immigration, anti-Islam and anti-communism.
History
Founded in Decem ...
and Liberal Alliance
*** In alliance with Recreate Greece
Footnotes
External links
* {{in lang, el
Defunct political parties in Greece
Political parties established in 2009
Liberal parties in Greece
Neoliberal parties in Greece
Multicultural parties in Greece
Classical liberal parties
2009 establishments in Greece
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party member parties
Political parties disestablished in 2019