Course of Freedom Πλεύση Ελευθερίας | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Zoe Konstantopoulou |
| Founder | Zoe Konstantopoulou |
| Founded | 19 April 2016; 9 years ago (2016-04-19) |
| Split from | Popular Unity[1] |
| Ideology | Left-wing nationalism[6] Sovereigntism[7][8] Anti-austerity[7][11] Left-wing populism[14] Progressivism[17] Hard Euroscepticism[19] |
| Political position | Left-wing[25][33] |
| European Parliament group | Non-Inscrits |
| Colours | Purple Turquoise |
| Slogan | "We look neither right nor left. We look forward."[34]"We will change the world with Love"[35] |
| Parliament | 6 / 300 |
| European Parliament | 1 / 21 |
| Website | |
| plefsieleftherias.gr | |
Course of Freedom (Greek:Πλεύση Ελευθερίας,romanized: Plefsi Eleftherias) is a Greekanti-establishment[7][36][37][8] political party founded in 2016 by the formerPresident of the Hellenic Parliament,Zoe Konstantopoulou.[38]
On 19 April 2016, Zoe Konstantopoulou announced the founding of Course of Freedom. According to its founding declaration, the party's purpose of action consists of democracy, justice, transparency, rights,debt cancellation, and claim forWorld War II reparations.[39]
Konstantopoulou, along with the party, had attended and called for support of the "Macedonia name" anti-Prespa Agreement mass protests of 2018 and 2019, with the slogan "I'm not ceding my homeland", having been the only political figure of theGreek left to openly do so.[40][41][8][5]
The party cooperates electorally with theI Don't Pay Movement, whose leaders were included in Course of Freedom's ballot to run in theEuropean andGreek national elections of 2019.[42][43]
Course of Freedom was able to enter theHellenic Parliament at theJune 2023 legislative election, scoring 3.17% and electing 8 members of Parliament.[44]
The party condemnedattacks on health facilities during the Gaza war after party president Konstantopoulou met withthe Palestinian envoy,[45] expressing her support for the Palestinian people; she vowed that Course of Freedom will "be the voice" ofPalestine in Greece.[46]
In the2024 European election the party was able to elect oneMEP,Maria Zacharia, who is atrade unionist andlabourist.[47]
Course of Freedom had a sittingGreek MP, Georgia Kefala, that participated in theMarch to Gaza and joined in the travel to Egypt.[48]
Course of Freedom was established on ananti-memoranda ideology,[38] based on its founder's Zoe Konstantopoulou'shardliner[49] opposition toausterity,neoliberalism, "tax inequality",Greece'screditors, andthe Troika,[10][50][51][52][53] and has been seen as "left-wing populist".[8][12] Mattia Zulianello, the professor of political science at theUniversity of Trieste, also classified the party as left-wing populist.[13] The party has been described by political commentators as left-wing,[20][21][22][23][24] "nominally left",[54][55][56] orfar-left,[57][58][59][60][61] although Konstantopoulou describes it asanti-establishment and "neither left nor right" instead.[37] The party's political position has also been considered to be"catch-all",[56] accruing support from both left-wing and right-wing voters, including a component from thefar-right,[8][62] owing to its generalized anti-establishment positions.[8][62] Course of Freedom is considered to be asovereignist party[8] and appeals tonationalist sentiments,[54][10][7] and has been labelled as"nationalist left"[4][3][63][64] orleft-wing nationalist.[2][65][66]
Course of Freedom'spolitical position has also been evaluated as solelyanti-establishment[36][7][67][68][63][69][70][29] or simplypopulist "anti-systemic",[71][10][47] considered difficult to be firmly placed on thepolitical spectrum[7] or transcending it due to itsanti-corruption message. It is considered to be aradical formation,[72][73] espousinga virulent rejection of all politicians while still embracinglegalism and institutionalism.[8]
Konstantopoulou has criticizedprivatizations, taxation increases,"media oligarchs", andauctioning off and bank seizures of homes of overindebted families and electronic auctions.[15] The party has also come in support ofrefugees, theLGBT community, opponents toCOVID-19 vaccination, and of victims ofsexism andsexual violence.[8][7]
Course of Freedom is ahard Eurosceptic party, with Konstantopoulou calling theEuropean Union a "monstrous creation"lacking in democracy that is "not a union to belong to";[18] the party's founding declaration denounces"Eurobureaucracy" astotalitarianism.[74] The party also believes theeuro is"against the people", with Konstantopoulou calling it a "tool of enslavement and oppression".[75][76][77]
Konstantopoulou and the party have also launched a "Don't Pay"movement and a campaign of "general disobedience" towards debts, taxes and insurance contributions since 2017.[78]
The party's positions include the cancellation of the country'snational debt (thatZoe Konstantopoulou has previously during her time in government affirmed as "illegal, illegitimate,odious",[79] "unsustainable"[80] and "unconstitutional" based on the report of theHellenic Parliament's Greek Debt Truth Commission[81]), opposition tothe Prespa naming agreement on North Macedonia's name and calling for areferendum on it,[82] claimingGerman war reparations andloans of up to €350 billion,[18] additional compensation for Nazi atrocities,[37] expanding Greece'sterritorial waters to 10 km, and opposition tomandatoryvaccination.[83]
The party's program includesconfiscation of property of bankers and politicians who will be deemed responsible for the country'sinclusion in theMemoranda, and also shutting down allmedia accused of "propaganda and entanglement" and doing away with the riot control known asMAT, replacing the last two with citizen collaboration/participation alternatives.[84][85]
Course of Freedom openly impugnes theeuro and theEurozone, and is in favour ofmonetary sovereignty, with Konstantopoulou stating a clear "no" to the euro; Course of Freedom wantscurrency to function as a "tool of liberty" irrespective of whether its form will beelectronic,digital ordrachma. Konstantopoulou has simultaneously stated that she doesn't believe "drachma is a panacea" and that no currency alone can guarantee democracy and freedom. Course of Freedom is also in favour ofalternative currencies and alternative means of payment and transactions, as a means to counter "monetary blackmail" and "the control of the banking system"[75][76][77] In 2025, Konstantopoulou stated that she has never advocated for a return to the drachma, that no currency is "sacred" or "a panacea" and reiterated her position in favour ofsovereignty and against "monetary blackmail", admonishing against currency restrictions and linking them tothe events of 2015, believing that the country shouldn't be "blackmailed" into using any currency. She reiterated Course of Freedom's position in usingdigital currency as an alternative option to defend against "someone cutting off" liquidity.[86][87][88]
Its founding declaration supports positions ofpopular democracy andparticipatory democracy, and includes proposals like the institutionalization of mandatoryreferendums, citizen participation in the justice system, renationalization of allpublic enterprises andpublic assets, the dissolution of theHRADF S.A, and an accountancy audit ofGreek debt,insurance funds andstate-owned institutions.[74]
Konstantopoulou proposed the abolition of allfunds in Greece, believing their nature to be predatory and lacking in constitutional legitimacy.[89] The party has also called for taking backpublic funds that weredirected to banks and for the strictest taxation of their excess profits.[86]
Course of Freedom has supported and voted in favour of legalisingsame-sex marriage.[90] It has also supported criminalizingfemicide as a separate crime with special characteristics, and has proposed the creation of an official body to record femicides.[91][92][7]
The party is pro-Palestinian. It supports a two-state solution.[7] and supportsPalestinian statehood, wanting the Greek government to startinternationally recognizing Palestine.[93]
Τhe following members are nationally affiliated by running in elections using Course of Freedom's ballot:[42][43]
| Party | Ideology[94] | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I Don't Pay Movement (party) Κίνημα Δεν Πληρώνω (κόμμα) | Activism Anti-austerity Civil Disobedience Anti-neoliberalism Euroscepticism Grassrootsdemocracy | Far-left | |
| Election | Hellenic Parliament | Rank | Government | Leader | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Seats won | +/− | ||||
| 2019 | 82,673 | 1.5% | New | 0 / 300 | New | 8th | Extra-parliamentary | Zoe Konstantopoulou |
| May 2023 | 170,298 | 2.9% | +1.4 | 0 / 300 |  0 | 7th | Extra-parliamentary | |
| Jun 2023 | 165,210 | 3.2% | +0.3 | 8 / 300 |  8 | 8th | Opposition | |
| European Parliament | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Election | Votes | % | ±pp | Seats won | +/− | Rank | Leader | EP Group |
| 2019 | 81,269 | 1.61% | New | 0 / 21 | New | 8th | Zoe Konstantopoulou | − |
| 2024 | 135,310 | 3.40% | +1.79 | 1 / 21 | 1 | 7th | NI | |
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Among them, the top performer was Greece (28.4%) thanks to the combined result of three left-wing populist parties (see Tsatsanis et al. 2021): SYRIZA (23.8%), the European Realistic Disobedience Front (3.0%) and Course of Freedom (1.6%).
There is fierce competition among left-wing parties to fill the vacuum left by SYRIZA's decline. The Course of Freedom (PE) party, led by Zoe Konstantopoulou, a former SYRIZA member, managed to enter the parliament with a program close to the radical views that SYRIZA advocated before it came to power.
This comment garnered reactions from Greek and Cypriot politicians and parties, with far-right Ελληνική Λύση (Greek Solution) party MP Kostas Hitas saying he had been "left speechless" and left wing Course of Freedom party leader Zoe Konstantopoulou demanding a retraction.
Another newcomer in the legislature is the left-wing Course of Freedom party, whose leader Zoe Konstantopoulou briefly served as speaker in 2015.
Voting in favor were all 158 MPs of ruling New Democracy (ND) party, while six deputies of the small left-wing "Plefsi Eleftherias" (Course of Freedom) party – founded and headed by former Parliament president Zoe Konstantopoulou – voted "present".
Opinion polls suggest that up to seven parties could enter parliament, including the leftist Plefsi Eleftherias, founded by former Syriza lawmaker Zoe Konstantopoulou, and a newly set up far-right party called Spartans.
Syriza also had to contend with increased support for hard-left fringe parties, including Sailing for Freedom, which was formed by the former Syriza official Zoe Konstantopoulou and was poised to gain national representation for the first time.
As well as a strong showing for far-right groups, the eight-party parliament will also include a party on the far-left, Course for Freedom, led by a former Syriza official.
The entry into Parliament of three far-right parties and the radical leftist Course of Freedom is, without doubt, the most alarming message to emerge from Sunday's general election.
It is a different matter for Course for Freedom (PE), a far-left party critical of Israel's response to the Nov. 7 attacks, anti-austerity and against neo-liberalism, which describes itself as "anti-establishment" with respect to the EU policies conducted so far.
Apart from the parties already possessing parliamentary representation, a few smaller ones also seemed to have a realistic chance of passing the 3% electoral threshold. Course of Freedom-Πλεύση Ελευθερίας (CoF), a party founded by Zoe Konstantopoulou, a formerly prominent member of SYRIZA, was one of them. The party is generally considered radical left, though on many issues it sits uneasily on the left-right axis and is first and foremost characterized by its profoundly anti-establishment stance and hard Euroscepticism (Kordas 2023).
The third new entrant, Course of Freedom (Πλεύση Ελευθερίας), was founded as a radical left party in 2016 by a former SYRIZA parliamentary speaker.
The survey's measure of voting intentions found considerable support for Course of Freedom, the far left populist party led by Zoe Konstantopoulou, and the nativist far right Voice of Reason led by Afroditi Latinopoulou.
As it is also clearly stated in their web site, the movement maintains strong positions with regards to a range of issues beyond those discussed above such as: popular sovereignty, a demand of national independence and social justice, rupture with neoliberal policies and the European Institutions that support them, fight against fascism, ceasing of privatisations and a restructuring of the society on socialist foundations. The 'Do not pay movement' members use this narrative mainly to designate their ideological opponents and establish their activist tactics, which aim at disseminating the rationale of civic disobedience, through a grassroots activism, against the unfair legislations and policies that suppress the lower and middle classes of society.
Then there are the various movements of "civil disobedience" organized by Greece's hard-left groups. These include the "Den plirono" ("I won't pay") phenomenon, which amounts to supposedly brave refuseniks lifting barriers at motorway toll-booths and driving through without paying.
""Den Plirono" started as a campaign in opposition to privatization of public goods and broadened to a civil disobedience movement, including resistance to pay road charges, increased public transport fees, bailiffs, and against shut-down of electricity for those who cannot afford to pay heightened bills. Moreover they organize neighborhood assemblies and public debates on the source of debt, the Euro-crisis and the necessity to exit the Euro-zone (META, 2013)".
In this chapter we look at the case of the anti-austerity Greek social movement 'Do Not Pay' Movement (To kinima den plirono) in order to examine whether and how the protestors attempt to define their political presence and affirm their collective identity by exercising a new form of politics that goes beyond established ideological divisions between Left and Right.
(in Greek)
