Abbreviation ΛAE
(LAE) Split from SYRIZA | Leader Panagiotis Lafazanis Political position Left-wing to Far-left | |
Founded 21 August 2015 (2015-08-21) Ideology Socialism
Euroscepticism
Left-wing populism | ||
Popular Unity (Greek: Λαϊκή Ενότητα, ΛAE, Laïkí Enótita, LAE) is a left-wing political party in Greece whose official foundation is still pending.
Contents
- History
- Election September 2015
- Naming
- Policies
- Members of parliament before September 2015 election
- Components
- References
Popular Unity was founded on 21 August 2015 by twenty five parliamentarians formerly affiliated to the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza), as a reaction to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' handling of the Greek bailout agreement of 2015. It is led by the former Minister of Energy Panagiotis Lafazanis. Due to receiving 2.86% (vs. the required 3%) of the popular vote in the September 2015 election it has no seats in the Parliament.
History
Popular Unity was founded on 21 August 2015 by 25 parliamentarians formerly affiliated to the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza), as a reaction to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' handling of the Greek bailout agreement of 2015. At foundation Popular Unity was the third largest party in the Greek parliament. It is led by the former Minister of Energy in the Tsipras cabinet, Panagiotis Lafazanis. Dimitris Stratoulis (former Alternate Minister of Social Security) and Costas Isychos (former Alternate Minister of National Defence), who were sacked in July 2015, also joined the new party.
Election September 2015
On September 2, 2015 the party programme for the snap election on September 20 was published. The party received about 2.9% of the vote, below the 3% threshold to win any seats in parliament. In response to the result the party said, 'we lost the game but not the war'.
Naming
The name of the party is inspired by Popular Unity, the Chilean political alliance led by Salvador Allende.
Policies
The party favours Greek withdrawal from the eurozone and reinstating the drachma as Greece's national currency. According to founding member Stathis Kouvelakis, a former member of Syriza's Central Committee, the new party supports socialist internationalism, pacifism, Greece's exit from NATO, and breaking military agreements with Israel.
Members of parliament before September 2015 election
The 26 Members of the Hellenic Parliament, that all defected from Syriza, were, in alphabetical order:
Components
Popular Unity was created by political factions which mainly came from SYRIZA, but some came from ANTARSYA. Below are some of the factions