The Greek Ecologists ( el, Έλληνες Οικολόγοι, translit=Ellines Ιkoloyi) (previously Union of Ecologists, el, Ένωση Οικολόγων, translit=Enosi Ιkoloyon) is a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
"fringe" and "bizarre ecological party".
The party's president is
Dimosthenis Vergis, a former auto-worker, trade unionist, journalist, and peace activist. Vergis has been described as a "self-styled ecologist" and "a self-styled, modern-day Dionysus – God of wine, revelry and fertility".
Vergis usually deploys naked female party workers in his campaigns and has posed nude for campaign posters and pamphlets, flirting "with any female journalist that comes within groping distance". He supports the legalisation of cannabis and unrestricted nudism.
The Greek Ecologists and its leader are not accepted as a Green party by the
Ecologist Greens, which enjoys international recognition as Greece's green party. The Ecologist Greens have condemned Vergis, stating: "The public can be assured that the political culture of
Ecologist Greens and the Green movement, in general, has nothing to do with behaviour that makes a mockery or which, through strange - at least - and disastrous interests (such as abuses, money laundering), has damaged the interest in the environment and the political perspectives of ecology in Greece."
History
In 1997, an Athens prosecutor issued a warrant for Vergis' arrest after his party published a poster in which he appeared nude with a smaller picture of
International Association of Athletics Federations
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...
president
Primo Nebiolo inset near Vergis' genitals.
In August 1998, lawyers representing the
Archbishop of Athens
The Archbishopric of Athens ( el, Ιερά Αρχιεπισκοπή Αθηνών) is a Greek Orthodox archiepiscopal see based in the city of Athens, Greece. It is the senior see of Greece, and the seat of the autocephalous Church of Greece. Its ...
successfully went to court to prevent the party using a poster in the municipal elections showing Vergis shaking hands with the archbishop.
During the
2000 general election, in which he openly campaigned with semi-nude models, Vergis was described as a "joker" by deputy labour minister
Christos Protopappas.
The party was prohibited from participating in the
2004 general election on the order of the
Greek supreme court.
"Δύο ενστάσεις για τις εκλογές"
''Ta Nea
''Ta Nea'' ( el, Τα Νέα, italic=yes; Translation: ''The News'') is a daily newspaper published in Athens. It was owned by Lambrakis Press Group (DOL), which also published the newspaper '' To Vima''. The assets of DOL were acquired in 2017 b ...
'', 12 March 2004. Subsequently it was renamed to ''Greek Ecologists''.
In 2009 for the European election the famous trash TV singer Nikos Katelis (well known as Katman
Nikos Katelis ( el, Νίκος Κατέλης), better known by his stage name Katman, is known in Greece for appearing in various trash TV shows, including the show hosted by Annita Pania called ''Je T'Aime'', where he was a performer of sa ...
) became a candidate for this party. His speech in Kolonaki square was shown live on Alter Channel. He lost the elections.
Electoral results
References
External links
* Archive o
Party website
{{Human impact on the environment , state=collapsed
Green political parties in Greece