The Movement of Democratic Socialists ( el, Κίνημα Δημοκρατών Σοσιαλιστών, ''Kinima Dimokraton Sosialiston'') is a

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 ...

established on 3 January 2015 by

George Papandreou George Andreas Papandreou ( el, Γεώργιος Ανδρέας Παπανδρέου, , shortened to ''Giorgos'' () to distinguish him from his grandfather; born 16 June 1952) is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from ...

after splitting from the

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). The party officially uses To Kinima (Το Κίνημα, "The Movement") as the party's name abbreviation, although several media outlets and opinion pollsters have referred to it using the acronym KIDISO (ΚΙΔΗΣΟ).

History

Formation

The foundation of a new

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...

political party was announced on 2 January 2015 by

, current President of the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...

, outgoing

Member of the Hellenic Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule of the Hellenes, label=none), also known as the Parliament of the Hel ...

and former

Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ� ...

, three weeks before the upcoming election to be held on 25 January. This confirmed Papandreou's split from the

(PASOK), which he had led until being replaced as leader by

Evangelos Venizelos Evangelos Venizelos (, ; born 1 January 1957) is a Greek academic and politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Greece and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 25 June 2013 to 27 January 2015. Previously, he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ...

in March 2012. PASOK officials immediately denounced Papandreou's move as an "unethical and irrational political act", accusing Papandreou of fracturing PASOK and being motivated by personal ambition. On 3 January 2015, KIDISO was officially founded in the auditorium of the

Benaki Museum The Benaki Museum, established and endowed in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, is housed in the Benakis family mansion in downtown Athens, Greece. The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to the ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Five PASOK MPs joined the new party, including Papandreou and former minister Filippos Sachinidis, who would serve as the party’s media representative alongside former deputy minister Giorgos Petalotis. Other well known PASOK politicians who joined KIDISO include former

parliamentary speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerfo ...

Filippos Petsalnikos Filippos Petsalnikos ( el, Φίλιππος Πετσάλνικος; 1 December 1950 – 13 March 2020) was a Greek politician of Macedonian origin for the Movement of Democratic Socialists. From 2009 to 2012, he served as Speaker of the Hellenic P ...

and former minister

Dimitris Reppas Dimitris Reppas ( el, Δημήτρης Ρέππας; born July 6, 1952 in Leonidio, Arcadia) is a Greek politician of the Movement of Democratic Socialists and a current Member of the Hellenic Parliament. From 2009 to 2012 he served as Minister ...

. A 16-page founding declaration, signed by 252 founding members criticised the economic policies of the European institutions, supported the adoption of

Eurobonds Eurobond may refer to: * Eurobond (external bond) A eurobond is an international bond that is denominated in a currency not native to the country where it is issued. They are also called external bonds. They are usually categorised according t ...

, and called for a "progressive, socialist, ecological Europe".

2015–present

In the January 2015 legislative election, KIDISO received 2.46% of the national vote, thus failing to cross the 3% threshold to receive seats in the

Hellenic Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule (ancient Greece), Boule of the Greeks, Hellenes, label=none), also kno ...

. On 27 August 2015, PASOK officially ruled out a proposed electoral pact with KIDISO for the upcoming September 2015 snap election. On 2 September 2015, Papandreou stated that financial restrictions meant that KIDISO had ruled out contesting the election. On 12 January 2017, Papandreou and PASOK leader

Fofi Gennimata Fotini "Fofi" Gennimata ( ; 17 November 1964 – 25 October 2021) was a Greek politician who served as president of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) from 2015 to 2021. During her tenure as party leader, she also co-founded and led the ...

announced that KIDISO was joining the Democratic Alignment. KIDISO later joined the

Movement for Change Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

(KINAL) together with PASOK,

DIMAR Democratic Left (, , DIMAR) was a social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Greece, political party in Greece. Formed as a split from Synaspismos, Synaspismós, DIMAR was a minor party supporting the Cabinet of Antonis Samar ...

and

To Potami The River ( el, Το Ποτάμι, To Potami, ) was a centrist and social-liberal political party in Greece. The party was founded in February 2014 by Stavros Theodorakis. The party did not run in the 2019 elections and had no seats in the Hel ...

. Two party members, leader

and former PASOK minister

Haris Kastanidis Haris Kastanidis ( el, Χάρης Καστανίδης, born 11 March 1956 in Thessaloniki, Greece) is a Greek politician who served as Minister for Justice, Transparency and Human Rights and Minister for the Interior under George Papandreou. A ...

, are among the 22 KINAL MPs elected in 2019.

Election results

Hellenic Parliament

References

External links

* {{Greek political parties 2015 establishments in Greece Political parties established in 2015 Pro-European political parties in Greece Social democratic parties in Greece Multicultural parties in Greece Organizations based in Athens