Popular Unity (Greece)

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Popular Unity Λαϊκή Ενότητα
Abbreviation	ΛΑΕ (LAE)
Leader	Nikolaos Chountis
Founded	21 August 2015 (2015-08-21)
Split from	SYRIZA
Ideology	Socialism[1][2] Euroscepticism[1][2][3] Left-wing populism Left-wing nationalism
Political position	Left-wing[4][5] to far-left[1][6]
European Parliament group	European United Left/Nordic Green Left
Colours	Red
Slogan	'ΟΧΙ στο Ευρώ της καταστροφής! (NO to the disastrous Euro!)
Hellenic Parliament	0 / 300
European Parliament	0 / 21
Regional Governors	0 / 13
Regional Councilors	11 / 703
Website
laiki-enotita.gr
Politics of Greece Political parties Elections

Popular Unity (Greek: Λαϊκή Ενότητα (ΛΑΕ), Laïkí Enótita, LAE) is a left-wing^[4][5] political party in Greece.

Popular Unity was founded on 21 August 2015 by twenty five parliamentarians formerly affiliated to the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza),^[4] 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

History[]

Popular Unity was founded on 21 August 2015 by 25 parliamentarians formerly affiliated to the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza),^[4] 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.^[9] It is led by the former Minister of Energy in the Tsipras cabinet, Panagiotis Lafazanis.^[7] (former Alternate Minister of Social Security) and (former Alternate Minister of National Defence), who were sacked in July 2015,^[10] also joined the new party.

Election September 2015[]

On 2 September 2015, the party programme for the snap election on September 20 was published.^[11] 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'.^[8]

Naming[]

The name of the party is inspired by Popular Unity, the Chilean political alliance led by Salvador Allende.^[12]

Policies[]

The party favours Greek withdrawal from the eurozone and reinstating the drachma as Greece's national currency.^[4] 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.^[9]

Election results[]

Hellenic Parliament[]

Election	Hellenic Parliament					Rank	Leader
	Votes	%	±pp	Seats won	+/−
September 2015	155,320	2.86%	New	0 / 300	N/A	#9	Panagiotis Lafazanis
2019	15,930	0.28%	-2.58	0 / 300		#13

European Parliament[]

Members of Parliament[]

Popular Unity had 26 members of the Hellenic Parliament prior to the September 2015 election, all of whom defected from Syriza. In alphabetical order, they were:^[13]

References[]

• Stathis Kouvelakis; Thomas Lemahieu (27 August 2015). "Aucune illusion sur le carcan de l'euro". L'Humanité (in French). Retrieved 2015-09-04.

External links[]

• Official website (in Greek)
• Iskra
• Plan B
• The R Project