The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), best known by the syllabic abbreviation SYRIZA (, el, ΣΥΡΙΖΑ ; a pun on the Greek adverb , meaning "from the roots" or "radically"), is a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

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 ...

. It was founded in 2004 as a

political coalition This is a list of political groups by country. A political group also known as a political alliance, coalition or bloc, is cooperation by members of different political parties on a common agenda of some kind. This usually involves formal agreem ...

of left-wing and radical left parties, and registered as a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in 2012. A

left-wing populist Left-wing populism, also called social populism, is a political ideology that combines left-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric often consists of anti- elitism, opposition to the Establishment, and speaking for the "com ...

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

, progressive and social democratic party, Syriza holds a pro-Europeanist stance. Syriza also advocates for

alter-globalisation Alter-globalization (also known as alternative globalization or alter-mundialization—from the French alter- mondialisation—and overlapping with the global justice movement) is a social movement whose proponents support global cooperation and ...

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

, and

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...

. Syriza is the second largest party 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 ...

. Party chairman Alexis Tsipras served as Prime Minister of Greece from 26 January 2015 to 20 August 2015 and from 21 September 2015 to 8 July 2019. It is a member of the

Party of the European Left The Party of the European Left (PEL), commonly abbreviated European Left, is a European political party that operates as an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. ...

History

Formation

Although Syriza was launched in 2004, before that year's legislative election, 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, ''Chóros Dialógou gia tin Enótita kai Koiní Drási tis Aristerás'') in 2001. It was made up of various organizations of the Greek

political left Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

, that, despite different ideological and historical backgrounds, held common ground in several important issues that had arisen in Greece in the late 1990s, such as the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

, privatizations of state businesses, and social and civil rights. The Space provided the ground from which participating parties could work together on issues such as their opposition to the neoliberal reform of the

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

and

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

systems, and the new

anti-terrorism legislation Anti-terrorism legislation are laws with the purpose of fighting terrorism. They usually, if not always, follow specific bombings or assassinations. Anti-terrorism legislation usually includes specific amendments allowing the state to bypass its ...

, a review of the role of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and a redetermination of Greece's position in it, and the preparation of the Greek participation at the 27th G8 summit in 2001. Even though it was not a political organization, but rather an effort to bring together the parties and organizations that attended, the Space gave birth to some electoral alliances for the 2002 Greek local elections, the most successful being the one led by

Manolis Glezos Manolis Glezos ( el, Μανώλης Γλέζος; 9 September 1922 – 30 March 2020) was a Greek left-wing politician, journalist, author, and folk hero, best known for his participation in the World War II resistance. In Greece, he is best r ...

for the super-prefecture of

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 ...

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

. As part of the larger

European Social Forum The European Social Forum (ESF) was a recurring conference held by members of the alter-globalization movement (also known as the Global Justice Movement). In the first few years after it started in 2002 the conference was held every year, but late ...

, the Space also provided the ground from which several of the member parties and organizations launched the Greek Social Forum.

2004 legislative election

The defining moment for the birth of Syriza came in the 2004 legislative election. Most of the participants of the Space sought to develop a common platform that could potentially lead to an

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 party, political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand ...

. This led to the eventual formation of the Coalition of the Radical Left in January 2004. The parties that had formed the Coalition of the Radical Left in January 2004 were the Coalition of Left, of Movements and Ecology (Synaspismos or SYN), the

Renewing Communist Ecological Left The Renewing Communist Ecological Left ( el, Ανανεωτική Κομμουνιστική Οικολογική Αριστερά abbreviated AKOA) was a Eurocommunist party in Greece. Established in 1987 as KKE Interior – Renewing Left ( or '' ...

(AKOA), the Internationalist Workers Left (DEA), the

Movement for the United in Action Left Movement for the United in Action Left ( el, Κίνηση για την Ενότητα Δράσης της Αριστεράς abbreviated ΚΕΔΑ-''KEDA'') was a political party in Greece that was part of the Coalition of the Radical Left. Histo ...

(KEDA), which was a splinter group of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Active Citizens, which was a political organisation associated with

, and other independent left-wing groups or activists Although the Communist Organisation of Greece (KOE) had participated in the Space, it decided not to take part in the Coalition of the Radical Left. In the legislative 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, which led to a lot of tension within the coalition.

Crisis and revitalization

After the 2004 legislative 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 the AKOA could take his seat. Tension built up and resulted in the split of the Internationalist Workers Left and the formation of ''Kokkino'' (Red), both of which remained within the coalition. The frame of the crisis within SYRIZA was the reluctance of Synaspismos to adopt and maintain the political agreement for a clear denial of

centre-left politics 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 ...

. Three months after the 2004 legislative election, Synaspismos chose to run independently from the rest of the coalition for the 2004 European Parliament election in Greece and some of the smaller parties of the coalition supported the

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

Women for Another Europe (Greek: Γυναίκες για μια Άλλη Ευρώπη, ''Gynaíkes gia mia Álli Evrópi'') list. The crisis ended in December 2004 with the 4th convention of Synaspismos, when a large majority within the party voted for the continuation 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 (; born 8 June 1942 in Krestena, Elis) is a Greek politician, member of the Hellenic Parliament and former president of the left-wing Synaspismos. His daughter, Zoi, was until September 2015 the Speaker of the Hellenic Parl ...

, stepped down. The coalition was further strengthened by the organization in May 2006 of the 4th European Social Forum in

, and by a number of largely successful election campaigns, such as those in Athens and Piraeus, during the 2006 Greek local elections. The coalition ticket in the municipality of Athens was headed by Alexis Tsipras, proposed by Alavanos who declared Synaspismos' "opening to the new generation".

2007 legislative election

Opinion polls An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...

had indicated that Syriza was expected to make significant gains in the election, with predictions ranging from 4% to 5% of the electorate. On 16 September, it gained 5.0% of the vote in the 2007 legislative election. Prior to the election, the participating parties had agreed on a common declaration by 22 June. The signed Declaration of the Coalition of the Radical Left outlined the common platform on which it 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 KOE announced its participation into the coalition. On 21 August, the

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

Ecological Intervention (Greek: Οικολογική Παρέμβαση, ''Oikologikí Parémvasi'') also joined, and the

Democratic Social Movement The Democratic Social Movement (DIKKI; Greek: ΔΗΚΚΙ – Δημοκρατικό Κοινωνικό Κίνημα, ''Dimokratiko Koinoniko Kinima'') is a social-democratic political party in Greece. The party was founded in 1995 by Dimitris T ...

(DIKKI) also announced its participation in the coalition on 22 August 2007. On 2 September, the

Areios Pagos The Areopagus () is a prominent rock outcropping located northwest of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Its English name is the Late Latin composite form of the Greek name Areios Pagos, translated "Hill of Ares" ( grc, Ἄρειος Πάγος). ...

refused to include the title of DIKKI in the Syriza electoral alliance, saying that the internal procedures followed by DIKKI were flawed. This was criticized by Syriza and DIKKI as inappropriate interference by the courts in party political activity.

2007–2011 elections and developments

Greek parliamentary elections 2009 debate

On 27 November 2007, Alavanos announced that, for private reasons, he would not be seeking to renew his presidency of Synaspismos. The 5th party congress of Synaspismos elected Alexis Tsipras, a municipal councillor for the municipality of Athens, as party president on 10 February 2008. Alavanos retained the parliamentary leadership of Syriza, as Tsipras was not at that time a member of parliament. Tsipras achieved considerable popularity with the Greek electorate, which led to a surge in support for Syriza in opinion polls, up to 18 percent of the vote at its peak. At the end of June 2008, Start – Socialist Internationalist Organisation (Greek: Ξεκίνημα – Σοσιαλιστική Διεθνιστική Οργάνωση, ''Xekínima – Sosialistiké Diethnistikí Orgánosi'') announced that it would join the coalition. During the run-up to the 2009 European Parliament election in Greece, Syriza, amid turbulent internal developments, saw its poll share decrease 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 Synaspismos president

Alekos Alavanos Alexandros 'Alekos' Alavanos ( el, Αλέκος Αλαβάνος; born 22 May 1950 in Athens) is a Greek politician, former member of the Hellenic Parliament and the European Parliament. From 2004 until 2008 he was president of the Coalition o ...

from his seat in the Greek parliament, a resignation that was withdrawn a few days later. In the 2009 Greek legislative election held on 4 October, Syriza won 4.6% of the vote (slightly below its 2007 showing), returning thirteen MPs to the Hellenic Parliament. The incoming MPs included Tsipras, who took over as Syriza's parliamentary leader. In June 2010, ''Ananeotiki'' (Reformist 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 nine MPs. The four MPs who left formed a new party, the Democratic Left (DIMAR).

2012 general elections

In a move of voters away from the parties which participated in the coalition government under the premiership of

Lucas Papademos Lucas Demetrios Papademos ( el, Λουκάς Παπαδήμος; born 11 October 1947) is a Greek economist and academic who served as 12th Prime Minister of Greece from November 2011 to May 2012, leading a national unity government in the wake o ...

in November 2011, Syriza gained popular support in the opinion polls, as did the KKE and DIMAR. Opinion polls in the run-up to the May 2012 election showed Syriza with 10–12% support. The minor Unitary Movement (a

PASOK 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 ...

splinter group) also joined the coalition in March 2012. In the first legislative election held on 6 May, the party polled over 16% and quadrupled its number of seats, becoming the second largest party in parliament, behind

New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in Chinese Communist Revolution, post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path ...

(ND). After the election, Tsipras was invited by the

President of Greece The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Rep ...

to try to form a government but failed, as he could not muster the necessary number of parliamentarians. Subsequently, Tsipras rejected a proposal by the president to join a coalition government with the

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

and centre-left parties. For the second legislative election held on 17 June, Syriza re-registered as a single party (adding the United Social Front moniker) as its previous coalition status would have disqualified it from receiving the 50 "bonus" seats given to the largest polling party under the Greek electoral system. Although Syriza increased its share of the vote to just under 27%, ND polled 29.8% and claimed the bonus. With 71 seats, Syriza became the main opposition party to a coalition government composed of ND, PASOK, and DIMAR. Tsipras subsequently formed a Shadow Cabinet in July 2012.

Unitary party

In July 2013, a Syriza congress was held to discuss the organisation of the party. 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 chairman with 74% of the vote. Delegates supporting the Left Platform (Greek: Αριστερή Πλάτφορμα, ''Aristerí Plátforma'') led by Panayiotis Lafazanis, which wanted to leave the door open to quitting the euro, secured 30% (60) of the seats on Syriza's central committee. A modest success was also claimed by the Communist Platform (Greek section of the

International Marxist Tendency The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) is an international Trotskyist political tendency founded by Ted Grant and his supporters following their break with the Committee for a Workers' International in 1992. The organization's website, Marxi ...

), who managed to get two members elected to the party's central committee.

2014 elections

Local elections and elections to the European Parliament were held in May 2014. In the 2014 European Parliament election in Greece on 25 May, Syriza reached first place with 26.5% of vote, ahead of ND at 22.7%. The position in the local elections was less clear-cut, due to the number of non-party local tickets and independents contending for office. Syriza's main success was the election of

Rena Dourou Irene "Rena" Dourou ( el, Ειρήνη "Ρένα" Δούρου; born 7 October 1974) is a Greek political scientist and politician of the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza). From 2014 to 2019, she served as the Regional Governor of Attica. ...

to the Attica Regional governorship with 50.8% of the second-round vote over the incumbent Yiannis Sgouros. Its biggest disappointment was the failure of Gabriel Sakellaridis to win the Athens Mayoralty election, being beaten in the second ballot by

Giorgos Kaminis Georgios Kaminis ( el, Γεώργιος Καμίνης; born 15 July 1954) is a Greek American parliamentarian and professor of constitutional law. He was the Greek Ombudsman from April 2003 until September 2010 and Mayor of Athens from 2011 u ...

with 51.4% to his 48.6%.

Thessaloniki Programme

On 13 September 2014, Syriza unveiled the Thessaloniki Programme, a set of policy proposals containing its central demands for economic and political restructuring.

January 2015 election

The

failed to elect a new President of State by 29 December 2014, and was dissolved. A snap

legislative election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

was scheduled for 25 January 2015. Syriza had a lead in opinion polls, but its anti-austerity position worried investors and eurozone supporters. The party's chief economic advisor,

John Milios John Milios ( ; born 1952) is a Greek social scientist and Marxian economics scholar. He is Professor of Political Economy and the History of Economic Thought at the National Technical University of Athens. An author of several scholarly books ...

, downplayed fears that Greece under a Syriza government would exit the eurozone while shadow development minister George Stathakis disclosed the party's intention to crack down on Greek

oligarchs Oligarch may refer to: Authority * Oligarch, a member of an oligarchy, a power structure where control resides in a small number of people * Oligarch (Kingdom of Hungary), late 13th–14th centuries * Business oligarch, wealthy and influential bu ...

if it wins the election. In the election, Syriza defeated the incumbent ND and became the largest party in the Hellenic Parliament, receiving 36.3% of the vote and 149 out of 300 seats. Syriza party rally

Tsipras was congratulated by French president

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

who stressed Greco-French friendship, as well as by leftist leaders all over Europe, including

Pablo Iglesias Turrión Pablo Iglesias Turrión (; born 17 October 1978) is a Spanish political scientist and former politician. During his political career, he served as Second Deputy Prime Minister and as Minister of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda of the Government ...

of Spain's Podemos and

Katja Kipping Katja Kipping (born 18 January 1978) is a German politician of The Left party who is serving as Senator for Integration, Labour and Social Affairs in the Berlin state government since December 2021. She was previously a member of the Bundestag ...

of Germany's Die Linke. German government official Hans-Peter Friedrich said: "The Greeks have the right to vote for whom they want. We have the right to no longer finance Greek debt." The ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' and

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

reported on Syriza's ties with Russia and extensive correspondence with the Russian political scientist

Aleksandr Dugin Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin ( rus, Александр Гельевич Дугин; born 7 January 1962) is a Russian political philosopher, analyst, and strategist, who has been widely characterized as a fascist. Born into a military intelligen ...

. Early in the SYRIZA-led government of Greece, the Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

and Tsipras concluded a face-to-face meeting by announcing an agreement on boosting investment ties between the two nations. Tsipras also said that Greece would seek to mend ties between

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and

through European institutions. Tsipras also said that Greece was not in favor of Western sanctions imposed on Russia, adding that it risked the start of another

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

Government formation

On 26 January 2015, Tsipras and

Independent Greeks The Independent Greeks - National Patriotic Alliance ( el, Ανεξάρτητοι Έλληνες (ΑΝΕΛ), ''Anexartitoi Ellines'', ANEL) is a national-conservative political party in Greece. The party was the junior coalition partner to the ...

(ANEL) leader

Panos Kammenos Panagiotis "Panos" Kammenos ( el, Παναγιώτης "Πάνος" Καμμένος, ; born 12 May 1965) is a Greek politician and the founder of the right-wing party "Independent Greeks", which formed the governing coalition of the Hellenic Par ...

agreed to form a coalition government of Syriza and ANEL, with Tsipras becoming Prime Minister of Greece and Greek-Australian economist

Yanis Varoufakis Ioannis "Yanis" Varoufakis ( el, Ιωάννης Γεωργίου "Γιάνης" Βαρουφάκης, Ioánnis Georgíou "Giánis" Varoufákis, ; born 24 March 1961) is a Greek economist and politician. A former academic, he served as the Gree ...

appointed

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

and

appointed

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

. In July 2015, Yanis Varoufakis was replaced by

Euclid Tsakalotos Euclid Stefanou Tsakalotos ( el, Ευκλείδης Στεφάνου Τσακαλώτος, ; born 1960) is a Greek economist and politician who was Minister of Finance of Greece from 2015 to 2019. He is also a member of the Central Committee of ...

as Minister of Finance.

Party split and September 2015 election

Following the acceptance of the third memorandum with the institutions on Greece's debt by Tsipras and the Syriza government, 25 Syriza MPs who rejected the terms of the bailout, including the party's Left Platform and the Internationalist Workers Left faction, split to form a new party Popular Unity (Greek: Λαϊκή Ενότητα, ''Laïkí Enótita'', LE). They were led by

Panagiotis Lafazanis Panagiotis Lafazanis ( el, Παναγιώτης Λαφαζάνης, ; born 19 November 1951) is a Greek politician. He served as the leader of a new Greek left-wing political party, Popular Unity, from 21 August 2015 until his resignation on 2 J ...

. Many other activists left Syriza at this time. International supporters of Syriza were divided, as some of its erstwhile backers felt that the party betrayed its voters and those abroad who had seen a radical promise in the party. Author and communist activist

Helena Sheehan Helena Sheehan is an academic philosopher, historian of science, philosophy, culture and politics. Sheehan is Professor Emeritus at Dublin City University, where she taught media studies and history of ideas in the School of Communications. She wa ...

wrote that "Syriza was a horizon of hope. Now it is a vortex of despair." Having lost his majority in parliament, Tsipras resigned as Prime Minister on 20 August 2015, and called for fresh elections on September 20. Although polls suggested a close contest between Syriza and ND, Syriza led ND by 7%, winning 145 seats; LE polled below the 3% threshold and had no parliamentary representation. Tsipras renewed Syriza's previous coalition agreement with ANEL, giving the new government 155 seats out of 300 in parliament.

2019 elections

On 26 May, following losses in the 2019 European Parliament election and the concurrent local elections, Tsipras announced a

snap election A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Generally, a snap election in a parliamentary system (the dissolution of parliament) is called to capitalize on an unusual electoral opportunity or to ...

. During the legislative election in September, the party was defeated by ND. Following the result, Syriza moved into

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

Cabinet members

Members of the former Cabinet were sworn in on 23 September 2015: * Alexis Tsipras – Prime Minister *

Giannis Dragasakis Yannis Dragasakis (; born 1 January 1947) is a Greek politician and the former Deputy Prime Minister of Greece, serving twice from 27 January to 28 August 2015 and 23 September 2015 to 8 July 2019. He is a member of the Greek Parliament for the C ...

– Deputy Prime Minister *

– Finance *

Giorgos Stathakis Giorgos Stathakis ( el, Γιώργος Σταθάκης; born 8 November 1953) is a Greek politician and economist. From 27 January to 28 August 2015, he served as the Minister of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism in the cabinet of ...

– Economy, Development and Tourism *

Georgios Katrougalos Georgios Katrougalos ( el, Γιώργος Κατρούγκαλος; born 27 March 1963) is a Greek jurist and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from February to July 2019. He previously served as an Alternate Minister of F ...

– Labour and Social Affairs *

Nikos Toskas Nikolaos "Nikos" Toskas ( el, Νικόλαος Στεφάνου Τόσκας) (born 22 February 1952) is a retired Hellenic Army General and a politician currently serving as a Syriza member of the Hellenic Parliament for Athens B. He was Alternate ...

– Citizens' Protection *

Ioannis Mouzalas Ioannis Mouzalas ( el, Ιωάννης Μουζάλας) is a Greek obstetrician-gynecologist, surgeon and one of the founding members of the Greek chapter of Doctors of the World. In August 2015, he was appointed Alternate Minister for Immigrati ...

– Immigration Policy * Panos Skourletis – Environment and Energy *

Nikos Kotzias Nikolaos Kotzias, GCM ( el, Νικόλαος Κοτζιάς; born 21 December 1950) is a Greek politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2018. He was Foreign Minister from 23 September 2015 until his resign ...

– Foreign Affairs *

Panagiotis Kouroumblis Panagiotis Kouroumblis ( el, Παναγιώτης Κουρουμπλής; born 2 October 1951) is a Greece, Greek politician of Coalition of the Radical Left, Syriza. On 27 January 2015 he was appointed the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity ...

– Interior *

Nikos Paraskevopoulos Nikos Paraskevopoulos ( gr, Νίκος Παρασκευόπουλος) is a Greek criminologist who is a former Greek Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights. He was a Professor of criminal law at the Aristotle University of Thessal ...

– Justice, Transparency and Human Rights *

Aristides Baltas Aristides Baltas ( el, Αριστείδης Μπαλτάς; born 9 February 1943) is a philosopher of science and physicist who served as the Minister of Culture and Sports of Greece and as the Minister of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs ...

– Culture and Sports *

Nikos Filis Nikos Filis ( el, Νίκος Φίλης) is a Greek politician and journalist. He held the office of the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs of Greece from 23 September 2015 to 5 November 2016. Early life and education Filis wa ...

– Education, Research and Religious Affairs *

Andreas Xanthos Andreas Xanthos is a Greek medical doctor and politician, and Member of the Hellenic Parliament for Rethymno on Crete for Syriza. From 2015 to 2019 he served as the Minister of Health in the Second Tsipras Cabinet. He previously served as an A ...

– Health and Welfare *

Christos Spirtzis Christos Spirtzis ( el, Χρήστος Σπίρτζης; born 1969 in Athens) is a Greek engineer and centre-left independent politician. From 2015 to 2019, he served as the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport in the government of Alexis Ts ...

– Infrastructure, Transport and Networks *

Thodoris Dritsas Thodoris Dritsas ( el, Θοδωρής Δρίτσας; born 23 August 1947) is a Greek politician of the Syriza party who has served as the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy and Alternate Minister for Shipping and the Aegean. Early life ...

– Maritime Affairs and Island Policy * Vangelis Apostolou – Rural Development and Food *

Alekos Flambouraris Alekos Flambouraris ( el, Αλέκος Φλαμπουράρης) is a Greek politician who served as the Minister of State for Coordinating Government Operations in the second Tsipras cabinet. Political career Flambouraris "helped guide Mr T ...

– Coordinating Government Operations * Nikos Pappas – State * Olga Gerovassili – Government Spokesperson The Ministry of Defense was filled by a non-Syriza nominee,

of the

(ANEL).

Ideology

The main constituent element of the original coalition was Synaspismos, a

party, but Syriza was founded with a goal of uniting

and radical left groups and had included a broad array of groups and independent activists as well as ideologies, from

social democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

and democratic socialists to Marxist–Leninists and

Trotskyists Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a re ...

. Additionally, despite its

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

ideology, many members are Christians who are

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

and opposed to the privileges of the state-sponsored

Church of Greece The Church of Greece ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Ἑλλάδος, Ekklēsía tē̂s Helládos, ), part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Its ...

. From 2013, the coalition became a unitary party, although it retained its name with the addition of United Social Front. Syriza had been characterized as an

anti-establishment An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...

party, whose success had sent "shock-waves across the EU". Although it has abandoned its old identity, that of a hard-left protest voice, becoming more

in character, and stating that it would not abandon the

eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU policies ...

, its chairman Alexis Tsipras has declared that the "euro is not my fetish". The

Vice President of the European Parliament There are fourteen vice-presidents of the European Parliament who sit in for the president in presiding over the plenary of the European Parliament. Role Vice-presidents are members of the Bureau and chair the plenary when the president is not ...

and Syriza MEP

Dimitrios Papadimoulis Dimitrios Papadimoulis ( el, Δημήτρης Παπαδημούλης, Dimítris Papadimoúlis; born 21 March 1955) is a Greek politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) as a member of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left. O ...

stated that Greece should "be a respectable member of the European Union and the euro zone", and that "there is absolutely no case for a Grexit". Tsipras clarified that Syriza "does not support any sort of Euroscepticism", though the party was seen by some observers as a

soft Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...

force for advocating another Europe free of

austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...

and

neoliberalism Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

. Since governing, the party took a more pro-Europeanist stance, saying that its regulatory reforms, while remaining in the Eurozone, enabled the government, in the words of Filippa Chatzistavrou, "to better address negative externalities and spillovers between Greece and other EU Member States." By 2019, Syriza had become a mainstream

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 ...

party, taking advantage of the traditional centre-left

's collapse. Tsipras stated that his goal was to build a broad progressive front without abandoning the party's core ideology and left-wing coalition. During the party's time in government, SYRIZA has practised a soft neoliberal policy of austerity, despite its vocal

anti-neoliberalism Post-neoliberalism, also known as anti-neoliberalism, is a set of ideals characterized by its rejection of neoliberalism and the economic policies embodied by the Washington Consensus. While there is scholarly debate about the defining features o ...

, which contradicted its pre-electoral pledges, ideological outlook, political practice, and its own history, being stuck in

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

rhetoric and what are termed "symbolic politics", unable to preserve its radicalism. Observers' analysis has revealed similarities with the previous PASOK governments, in particular the party's outlook from 1974 to 1981.

Group of 53

The Group of 53, also known as 53+, are a faction within Syriza. The group was founded in mid-2014 and stands ideologically between the Left Platform and Tsipras's core backers. Both

and Gabriel Sakellaridis are members of the group. Another member of the group was Tassos Koronakis, the former secretary of the Syriza Central Committee who resigned following the announcement of the snap elections in September 2015.

Left Platform

The Left Platform were a faction within Syriza, positioned ideologically on the far-left of the party. In August 2015, 25 Left Platform MPs within Syriza left the party and formed Popular Unity to contest the snap elections. The grouping was led by former energy minister

Former constituent parties

Syriza as a unitary party was formed through the merger of the following parties (in English alphabetical order): The party also includes a number of independent leftist activists. After the creation of the unitary party in 2013 some of the constituent members decided to dissolve, such as Synaspismos,

, Ecosocialists of Greece and Unitary Movement. After the third Memorandum of Understanding with the European Stability Mechanism was accepted in 2015, organizations like Internationalist Workers' Left, Active Citizens,

New Fighter New Fighter-Network of Left Socialists ( el, Νέος Αγωνιστής) is a left-wing political party in Greece and former member of the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA). It was founded in 2006 as a faction in Panhellenic Socialist Movem ...

, Anticapitalist Political Group and the Communist Tendency (Greek section of IMT) joined the Left Platform to create Popular Unity. The

Communist Organization of Greece The Communist Organization of Greece (, ''Kommounistikí Orgánosi Elládas'', KOE) is a Greece, Greek political party. The KOE's ideology is revolutionary Marxism and Maoism, supporting Marxism, Marxist ideology with all the historical experien ...

also left Syriza at that time.

Criticism

The party has been criticized for the way it approaches far-left terrorism in Greece.

, a member of SYRIZA and ex-minister, drew criticism when he declared that "no one has been terrorized, I believe, by the action of these terrorist organizations. No one has been terrorized by the 17 November Group. On the contrary, the Greek people have been terrified by too many other policies". SYRIZA and Dritsas retracted that statement later on. On the issue of SYRIZA's stance towards the terrorist organization 17N, the party has also been criticised as people who are or were affiliated with the party have testified as defense witnesses during the organization's trial. In 2021, the party drew criticism again as fifteen of its members published a declaration supporting 17N's leading member Dimitris Koufontinas, after he went on a hunger strike as a result of his demanding to be moved to another prison facility. SYRIZA's Triantafyllos Mitafidis was also criticized after he declared "enough with the obsession with legality. I cannot accept the opinion that we respect the decisions of the Greek Council of State".

Election results

Hellenic Parliament

^A 2004 results are compared to the Synaspismos totals in the 2000 election.
^B January 2015 results are compared to the combined totals for Syriza and OP totals in the June 2012 election.

European Parliament

^A 2009 results are compared to the Synaspismos totals in the 2004 election.

Representatives

As of the 2019 European Parliament election in Greece, SYRIZA holds six seats in the

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 ...

. These seats are held by: * Dimitris Papadimoulis *

Elena Kountoura Elena Kountoura ( el, Έλενα Κουντουρά, also romanized as ''Elena Koundoura''; born 2 November 1962), is a Greek politician, Member of the European Parliament, ex-Minister of Tourism (resigned on 3 May 2019 in order to participate in ...

* Kostas Arvanitis *

Stelios Kouloglou Stelios Kouloglou ( el, Στέλιος Κούλογλου; born 27 February 1953, Athens) is a Greece, Greek journalist writer and documentaries director. He is the creator of the news web channel "TVXS". Political analyst and major Greek publica ...

* Petros S. Kokkalis *

Alexis Georgoulis Alexis Georgoulis ( el, text=Αλέξης Γεωργούλης; born 1974) is a Greek actor and politician. Personal life Georgoulis was born on 6 October 1974 in Larissa, Greece. His father worked for a lottery and his mother taught kindergar ...

Party leaders

Symbols

From its founding in 2004 till September 2020, Syriza was represented by three colored flags, each representing the three main pillars of its political positions, Red (Socialism), Green (Ecology) and Purple (Feminism). After the restructuring of the party in 2020, along with the logo change, the symbol was also changed to a star, made out of the Greek letters Σ and Υ.

Logos

File:SYRIZA logo 2009.svg, Party logo, 2004–2012 File:SYRIZA logo 2014.svg, Party logo, 2012–2020 File:SYRIZA logo 2020.svg , Current logo, since 2020

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

*
Only Syriza Can Save Greece

James K. Galbraith James Kenneth Galbraith (born January 29, 1952) is an American economist. He is currently a professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and at the Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Senior Schol ...

and

. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 23 June 2013.
Kitsikis/article ''Grèce. Le Synaspismos tiraillé entre social-démocratie et anarchisme'', Grande Europe, no.16, janvier 2010, La Documentation Française. Read on Line

Greece: Phase One
'' Jacobin.'' 22 January 2015.
The pro-worker, pro-growth experiment in Greece is under threat
Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

.'' 17 February 2015.
Indebted yes, but not Guilty
by Slavoj Žižek, Potemkin Review, 22 February 2015. {{authority control 2012 establishments in Greece Centre-left parties in Europe Democratic socialist parties in Europe Left-wing politics in Greece Left-wing populism Left-wing parties in Europe Multicultural parties in Greece Parties represented in the European Parliament Party of the European Left member parties Political parties established in 2012 Pro-European political parties in Greece Progressive parties Secular parties in Greece Social democratic parties in Greece Socialist parties in Greece