This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "List of political parties in Greece" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| This article is part ofa series on |
| Politics of Greece |
|---|
|
From therestoration of democracy in 1974 to the2012 elections, the characteristicGreek political system was predominantly atwo-party system. The historically dominant parties wereNew Democracy and thePanhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). Under the electoral system, a party needs to surpass a 3% threshold in the popular vote in order to enter parliament. Until 2023, the largest party used to get a 50-seat bonus (out of 300 seats), ostensibly to ensure elections returned viable governing majorities. The2023 Greek legislative election was the first and only that was held without the 50-seat bonus rule. AlthoughNew Democracy achieved a large percentage of 40.7% and beat theopposition party by 20%, they fell short of forming a majority by 5 seats. The Hellenic Republic had acaretaker prime minister until theJune 2023 Greek parliamentary election was held.
This period was mainly ruled between the right-wing and the centre.
The major parties that emerged were thePeople’s Party and theLiberal Party. In 1926, theCommunist Party of Greece (KKE), which would later define the left for years, entered the parliament.
From 1950 to 1963, the predominant parties that won all elections in this period were the People’s Party (later Hellenic Rally) and theNational Radical Union (ERE) (both from the right).
After theseven-year dictatorship ended, the former leader of ERE,Konstantinos Karamanlis, was called back from exile to form a new government and then created theNew Democracy (ND) party. Monarchy was abolished in 1974, making the political parties the sole determinants of politics in Greece.
Further, 1974 saw the establishment of a new party, thePanhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) underAndreas Papandreou, representing a socialist ideology. For the decades to come, PASOK and New Democracy were the two parties that dominated Greek politics, creating a formidable two-party system, with the communist party KKE coming third.
The party system during this period was characterised by strong bureaucraticclientelism.
The2008 financial crisis and theGreek government-debt crisis had an impact in reshaping the party system that had been stagnant for decades. Confidence in the traditional parties declined; this led to the end of the continuous two-party system and single-party governments. There was new movement towards the creation ofcoalitions and an increase in the number of parties entering parliament.
The party that rose through the crisis was theCoalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA). It finished second on the crucialMay 2012 legislative elections and later won the2015 elections. It was the first party from the left wing in Greece's history to win an election.
A new split in the party system ideology (created during the economic crisis) which was evident in the 2012 elections was a pro- or anti-European stance. This resulted in an unprecedentedcoalition between the major traditional parties New Democracy and PASOK and the minor partyDIMAR. Similarly, the coalition that was created after the 2015 elections between SYRIZA, a left-wing party, andANEL, a populist right party, was based on their common views regarding Europe.
This period of turmoil also saw the rise of the controversial far-right partyGolden Dawn. It became a third party in parliament after the 2015 elections.
In 2018, the past major party PASOK merged with other centrist parties and created theMovement of Change (KINAL) formation.
Theelections in 2019 saw a return to a single party government with the continuously dominant New Democracy claiming the majority in parliament.
| Party | Abbreviation | Leader | MPs (2023) | MEPs (2024) | Ideology | Political position | International affiliation | European affiliation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Democracy Νέα Δημοκρατία Néa Dimokratía | ND ΝΔ | Kyriakos Mitsotakis, president | 156 / 300 | 7 / 21 | Liberal conservatism[1] Christian democracy[2] | Centre-right[3] toright-wing[4] | IDU CDI | EPP | ||
| Coalition of the Radical Left Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς Sinaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás | SYRIZA ΣΥΡΙΖΑ | Sokratis Famellos, president | 25 / 300 | 4 / 21 | Democratic socialism[5] Social democracy[6] | Centre-left toleft-wing | None | PEL | ||
| Panhellenic Socialist Movement – Movement For Change Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα- Κίνημα Αλλαγής Panellinio Sosialistiko Kinima - Kínima Allagís | PASOK-KINAL ΠΑΣΟΚ – ΚΙΝΑΛ | Nikos Androulakis, president | 33 / 300 | 3 / 21 | Social democracy | Centre-left | SI PA | PES | ||
| Communist Party of Greece Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas | KKE | Dimitris Koutsoumpas, general secretary | 21 / 300 | 2 / 21 | Communism Marxism–Leninism | Far-left | IMCWP | ECA | ||
| Greek Solution Ελληνική Λύση Ellinikí Lýsi | EL ΕΛ | Kyriakos Velopoulos, president | 11 / 300 | 2 / 21 | Ultranationalism National conservatism | Right-wing tofar-right | None | ECR | ||
| Spartans Σπαρτιάτες Spartiátes | S Σ | Vasilis Stigkas, president | 2 / 300 | 0 / 21 | Neo-fascism Ultranationalism | Far-right | None | None | ||
| New Left Νέα Αριστερά Néa Aristerá | NEAR ΝΕΑΡ | Alexis Haritsis, president | 12 / 300 | 0 / 21 | Democratic socialism | Centre-left toleft-wing | None | None | ||
| Democratic Patriotic Movement – Victory Δημοκρατικό Πατριωτικό Κίνημα – Νίκη Dimokratikó Patriotikó Kínima – Níki | NIKI NIKH | Dimitris Natsios, chairman | 8 / 300 | 1 / 21 | National conservatism Ultraconservatism | Far-right | None | None | ||
| Course of Freedom Πλεύση Ελευθερίας Plefsi Eleftherias | PE ΠE | Zoe Konstantopoulou, president | 6 / 300 | 1 / 21 | Anti-establishment Left-wing nationalism | Far-Left | None | None | ||
| Voice of Reason Φωνή Λογικής Foní Loyikís | FL ΦΛ | Afroditi Latinopoulou, president | 0 / 300 | 1 / 21 | Ultraconservatism Ultranationalism | Right-Wing | None | Patriots | ||
| Movement for Democracy Κίνημα Δημοκρατίας Kinima Dimokratias | KIDI ΚΙΔΗ | Stefanos Kasselakis, president | 6 / 300 | 0 / 21 | Pro-Europeanism Liberalism | Centre | None | European Democratic Party | ||
| National Rally – Patriotic Radical Momentum of Victory Εθνική Συσπείρωση – Πατριωτική Ριζοσπαστική Ορμή Νίκης Ethnikí Syspeírosi – Patriotikí Rizospastikí Ormí Níkis | National Rally – PARON Εθνική Συσπείρωση – ΠΑΡΟΝ | Michalis Gavgiotakis, president | 2 / 300 | 0 / 21 | Greek nationalism National conservatism | Far-right | None | None | ||
| Greek Pulse Ελληνικός ΠαλμόςEllinikos Palmos | Ellinikos Palmos Ελληνικός Παλμός | Nikos Papadopoulos, chairman | 1 / 300 | 0 / 21 | National conservatism Ultraconservatism | Far-right | None | None | ||