HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Coalition of the Left, of Movements and Ecology ( el, Συνασπισμός της Αριστεράς των Κινημάτων και της Οικολογίας, ''Synaspismós tīs Aristerás tōn Kinīmátōn kai tīs Oikologías''), commonly known as Synaspismos ( el, Συνασπισμός, ''Synaspismós'', "Coalition") and abbreviated to SYN (ΣΥΝ), was a Greek political party of the radical
New Left The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights, g ...
. It was founded in 1991 and was known as the Coalition of the Left and Progress ( el, Συνασπισμός της Αριστεράς και της Προόδου, ''Synaspismós tīs Aristerás kai tīs Proódou'') until 2003. In 2004 SYN was a founding 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. ...
. SYN was the largest party of the left-wing
coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...
formed in 2004 called
Coalition of the Radical Left The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...
(SYRIZA). SYN was dissolved in 2013.


History


Coalition, late 1980s–1991

Synaspismos emerged initially as an electoral coalition at the late 1980s, with the pro-Soviet
Communist Party of Greece The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curren ...
(KKE) and the
Greek Left Greek Left (, Elliniki Aristera, abbreviated EAR) was a Greek political party. It emerged, in January 1987, from the split in the Communist Party of Greece (Interior) into the Communist Party of Greece (Interior)-Renewing Left and the Greek Left ...
, one of the successors of the
eurocommunist Eurocommunism, also referred to as democratic communism or neocommunism, was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties which said they had developed a theory and practice of social transformation more rele ...
KKE Interior, as its largest constituents. The Party of Democratic Socialism, a splinter from the Union of the Democratic Centre which occupied a similar position to
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 ...
, was the largest non-
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
member party. The disintegration of the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
brought the Left into disunion, and the
traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
majority within KKE purged all non-hardliners from the party—almost 45% of the Central Committee members, including ex-general secretary
Grigoris Farakos Grigorios or Gregorios ( el, Γρηγόριος “watchful; alert; awake”, from ''ἐγρήγορᾰ'' ), and the variant Grigoris (Γρηγόρης), are the Greek forms of the name Gregory. It can refer to: * Grigoris (catholicos), 4th-centu ...
, and majorities in many Local Committees (named by the KKE majority as ''revisionists'' and by the press as the ''renewers''). At this time KKE also left the coalition.


Party, 1991–2013

After that, the other parties of the coalition and the renewing part of KKE decided to convert the alliance into a political party (1991). Although the 'experiment' seemed to have great potential, serious ideological conflicts were afflicting the new party. At the legislative elections of 1993, SYN failed by 2,000 votes to pass the limit of 3% and enter the National Parliament. But next year, Synaspismos got its highest national 'score' ever (6.26%) in the 1994 European Parliament elections. Two years later, with 5.12%, got its highest score in 1996 legislative elections. In the legislative elections of 2000, SYN was supported by the small
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) party and a small group of ecologists. After the elections a few members of the National Committee, who were asking for approximation with the social democrats, left the party accusing the majority of neo-communist turn and created the short-lived party AEKA. AEKA was first split and little later disbanded in some months, when the head of the party became an Undersecretary in the socialdemocratic administration of Kostas Simitis. In the legislative elections of 2004, Synaspismos, together with several smaller parties (AKOA,
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), Internationalist Workers Left (DEA, Active Citizens)), formed an alliance called
Coalition of the Radical Left The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...
(SYRIZA), but contested the Euro-elections of the same year on its own, because of ideological disagreements within the party. The alliance with the smaller parties was formed again at the end of 2005, when chairman
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 ...
proposed the 30-year-old Alexis Tsipras as candidate mayor of Athens for the Municipal Election of 2006, proclaiming the party's "overture to a younger generation". The Tsipras candidacy was received well, especially so by younger voters, and formed the party's springboard for its good 2007 parliamentary elections showing. On 10 February 2008 Alexis Tsipras was elected party president, replacing Alavanos, who stepped down citing private reasons. At that time Tsipras did not hold a parliamentary seat, so Alavanos remained leader of the parliamentary group. After the legislative elections in 2009, Tsipras entered Parliament and became leader of the SYRIZA parliamentary group. The 6th Congress of Synaspismos took place in June 2010. The "renewing wing" lead by
Fotis Kouvelis Fotis-Fanourios Kouvelis ( el, Φώτης-Φανούριος Κουβέλης; born 3 September 1948) is a Greek lawyer and leftist politician. Biography Kouvelis was born in Volos. He studied law and political science at the University of Athe ...
, in disagreement with the party's participation in
SYRIZA The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...
, left the party and founding Democratic Left. Fotis Kouvelis was followed by 3 more MPs, that left the party caucus. Both in the
May 2012 Greek Legislative election Legislative elections were held in Greece on Sunday, 6 May 2012 to elect all 300 members to the Hellenic Parliament. It was regular scheduled to be held in late 2013, four years after the previous election; however, an early election was stipula ...
and in the
June 2012 Greek Legislative election Legislative elections were held in Greece on Sunday, 17 June 2012, to elect all 300 members to the Hellenic Parliament in accordance with the constitution, after all attempts to form a new government failed following the May elections. If all a ...
SYRIZA The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...
came second, electing 52 and 71 MPs, accordingly, of which 45 and 55 were part of Synaspismos. In July 2013, right before the first Congress of
SYRIZA The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...
, the final congress of Synaspismos took place, that overwhelmingly voted to disestablish Synaspismos and to merge with
SYRIZA The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...
.Synaspismos' disestablishment has been decided
/ref>


Election results


Hellenic Parliament


European Parliament


Ideological identity

SYN described itself as "a radical left party, inspired by the ideas of the renewal of the communist and broader left movement in Greece and in Europe. It also fights for the merging of the ecological movement along with the left, to form a strategic alliance. The party's culture has been enriched by its active participation in the movement against the Neoliberal Capitalist Globalization." Synaspismos aspired to be a "canopy party"; where, under the party flag, one could find people of varying ideological and theoretical backgrounds. Therefore, SYN members were encouraged to form, or participate in, intra-party platforms on the basis of kinship in ideology. Platforms mounted open discussions and published magazines, but might not work against party consensus decisions. Note: the exact word used is ''"τάσεις"'' ("tendencies"), but the term ''platform'' is more fitting in English.


Tendencies

The role of the platforms was vital especially in congresses, because each of them proposed a thesis on party strategy and presented its own ballot of candidates for the National Committee. In the National Committee elected by the last Congress (5 February 2008), the rank (in terms of representation) was the following: "Left Current" (mainstream western Marxism, party center-left), "Renewing Wing" (radical social democracy, party right), the "Red-green Network" (eco-Marxism, party left) and the "Initiative" (eurosceptic Marxism, party extreme left). Since 2004 the Left Stream, the Red-greens and the Initiative formed the so-called ''Left Majority'', which was responsible for moving the party to more radical leftist positions. * ''Left Unity'' (
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 a ...
, supporting Alexis Tsipras), 50.63% in the last congress * ''Left Current'' (
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
,
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 reform ...
), 29.83% in the last congress * ''Renewing Wing'' (
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 a ...
; most of its members left Synaspismos and founded Democratic Left), 17.23% in the last congress * ''Red-Green Network'' (
eco-socialist Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism or socialist ecology) is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. Eco-socialists generally believe that the expansi ...
,
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
), participated with the Left Unity list in the last congress * ''Initiative for the Left Recomposition'' (
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
,
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 reform ...
), 1.16% in the last congress


Representation and international alliances

The party had members in the National and
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 ...
. After having survived the crisis of not achieving parliamentary representation in 1993, Synaspismos had, since 1996, been the fourth party in the Greek Parliament, and the third party (in terms of representation) in local government. 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 ...
SYN was a member of the
European United Left - Nordic Green Left European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
group, and also a member of the
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 ...
. Moreover, SYN hosted the 1st Congress of European Left (29–30 October 2005), which formulated the
Athens Declaration 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 socialism, democratic socialist and Communism, communist political parties in the European Unio ...
as the manifesto 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. ...
party. Well-known executive members of Synaspismos were: Alexis Tsipras,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 Par ...
,
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 ...
et al. Synaspismos was closely connected with the following: *The Athens daily newspaper ΑΥΓΗ (''Dawn'') *The Athens radio station "105.5 FM – Στο Κóκκινο" (''In Red''). *The "
Nicos Poulantzas Nicos Poulantzas ( el, Νίκος Πουλαντζάς ; 21 September 1936 – 3 October 1979) was a Greek-French Marxist political sociologist and philosopher. In the 1970s, Poulantzas was known, along with Louis Althusser, as a leading structu ...
" Institute for Political Research *The Archive of Modern Social History (ΑΣΚΙ)


Structure

The structure of SYN consists of three levels: * Local: City, village or trade union committees, responsible for everyday matters at the workplace and neighborhood level, and deciding on issues of local interest. * Prefectural: The Prefectural Administration is elected by the members of the local committees and co-ordinates local committee work. * Nationwide: The National Committee (Central Political Committee (CPC)) is elected by the Party Congress, held every three years. It exercises the central administration of the party and convenes almost every month. Major decisions are usually taken at this level. ** The Secretariat is elected by the CPC among its members, and oversees three duties: to represent the party in media outlets and in negotiations with other parties; to prepare CPC sessions; and to co-ordinate party work at the nationwide level. Though somewhat similar to the ''Politbüro'' of old-style communist parties, its role is not nearly as dominant. Usually the members of the Secretariat are working full-time for the party. *** The Chairperson of SYN is elected by the Congress and was a
primus inter pares ''Primus inter pares'' is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their sen ...
member of both the CPC and the Secretariat.


SYN youth

SYN's youth organisation was SYN Youth (Νεολαία ΣΥΝ, SYN Youth), which was autonomous from the party structure. Until the late 1990s they were called "Left Youth League" (Ένωση Αριστερών Νέων). N-SYN had their own membership and executive bodies, but in general their decisions and activity were similar to the ones of the party. Their power was noteworthy in most Student Councils all around Greece, through the AR.EN.(Αριστερή Ενότητα, "Left Unity"). N-SYN also participated in the
European Network of Democratic Young Left The European Network of Democratic Young Left (ENDYL) was an independent network of left-wing democratic socialist political youth organisations in Europe. ENDYL was open to European youth organisations of the democratic left that neither foll ...
(ENDYL).


List of SYN leadership

* SYN as electoral coalition ** 1989–1991: chairman
Charilaos Florakis Charilaos Florakis (also Harilaos Florakis; el, Χαρίλαος Φλωράκης; 20 July 1914 – 22 May 2005) was a leader of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). He is best known for establishing the dominance of the KKE over other left-w ...
, secretary
Leonidas Kyrkos Leonidas Kyrkos (; 12 October 1924 – 28 August 2011) was a Greek leftist politician and member of the Hellenic Parliament and the European Parliament. Life Leonidas Kyrkos was born in Heraklion, Crete, to Greek politician Michail Kyrkos, who ...
** 1991: chairwoman
Maria Damanaki Maria Damanaki ( el, Μαρία Δαμανάκη) is a Greek politician, including former president of the Synaspismos party of the left and former state member of the Hellenic Parliament within the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). She se ...
, secretary
Fotis Kouvelis Fotis-Fanourios Kouvelis ( el, Φώτης-Φανούριος Κουβέλης; born 3 September 1948) is a Greek lawyer and leftist politician. Biography Kouvelis was born in Volos. He studied law and political science at the University of Athe ...
* SYN as party ** 1991–1993: chairwoman
Maria Damanaki Maria Damanaki ( el, Μαρία Δαμανάκη) is a Greek politician, including former president of the Synaspismos party of the left and former state member of the Hellenic Parliament within the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). She se ...
, no secretary ** 1993–2004: chairman
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 Par ...
, no secretary ** 2004–2008: chairman
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 ...
, secretary Nikos Hountis ** 2008–2013: Alexis Tsipras, secretary Nikos Hountis, since July 2009
Dimitris Vitsas Dimitris (Δημήτρης) is the Modern Greek form of the older forms Demetrios, Dimitrios (Δημήτριος, usually Latinized as Demetrius) and may refer to: * Dimitris Arvanitis (born 1980), Greek professional football defender who plays for ...


References


External links

*
Radio Station ''In Red'' liveInstitute Nikos PoulantzasASKI archives
currently only in Greek
Kitsikis/article ''Grèce. Le Synaspismos tiraillé entre social-démocratie et anarchisme'', Grande Europe, no.16, janvier 2010, La Documentation Française. Read on Line
{{DEFAULTSORT:Synaspismos Defunct socialist parties in Greece Political parties established in 1991 1991 establishments in Greece Political parties disestablished in 2013 2013 disestablishments in Greece Components of Syriza Centre-left parties in Europe Left-wing parties in Europe Left-wing politics in Greece Defunct communist parties in Greece Ecosocialist parties Feminist parties in Europe Pacifism in Greece Pacifist parties Feminism in Greece United fronts