The Renewing Communist Ecological Left ( el, Ανανεωτική Κομμουνιστική Οικολογική Αριστερά abbreviated AKOA) was a

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 ...

party in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. Established in 1987 as KKE Interior – Renewing Left ( or ''ΚΚΕσ–ΑΑ''), the party resulted from the KKE Interior splitting in two. The party didn't play a major role in electoral politics during the 1990s. This would only change when in 2000, the party aligned with Synaspismos, and in 2004 became one of the founding forces of SYRIZA. AKOA held the status of an observer in 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. ...

until it eventually dissolved into Syriza in 2013.

History

Formation

In May 1986, on its 4th national congress, a majority of ''KKE Interior'' decided to reorganize into a broader leftist movement, thereby overruling party secretary

Ioannis Banias Ioannis (Yannis) Banias ( el, Γιάννης Μπανιάς) (27 September 1939 – 29 March 2012) was a Greek politician, and former member of the Hellenic Parliament for the Coalition of Radical Left (2007–2009). Banias was born in Melisso ...

' resistance to giving up Marxist-Leninist identity. When the majority faction, led by

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 ...

, departed and at its April 1987 founding congress reconstituted as 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 ...

, the minority faction around Banias reorganized as ''KKE Interior – Renewing Left''.

1980s and 1990s

Banias' more orthodox wing was supported by KKE Interior's youth organization, the Greek Communist Youth – Rigas Feraios, which continued to play a relevant role in youth and students politics though losing the dominant status it once had. It was also affiliated with the weekly newspaper ''Epohi''. Unlike the ''Greek Left'', which in the late 1980s strengthened ties with the

KKE 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 ...

in becoming the driving force behind the formation of Synaspismos, AKOA largely stayed outside of coalitions. Following disappointing results in the three consecutive legislative elections of 1989 and 1990, the party abstained from further electoral participations during the 1990s. It was only in the late 1990s that AKOA shortly approached the KKE, which in the meantime had left Synaspismos, to jointly contest the 1998 local elections. The results of the cooperation were however disappointing, leading AKOA to realign again, thereby losing the more hardline Communist Renewal faction that preferred remaining associated with the KKE.

Alignment with SYRIZA and dissolution

In the 2000 parliamentary elections the AKOA supported Synaspismos. Since 2004, the AKOA has been part of

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). When in 2013, SYRIZA developed into a unitary party, AKOA decided to fully dissolve into the new structure.

Electoral results

References

External links

AKOA website

Epohi newspaper website
1987 establishments in Greece 2013 disestablishments in Greece Components of Syriza Defunct communist parties in Greece Party of the European Left former member parties Political parties disestablished in 2013 Political parties established in 1987 {{Greece-party-stub