Socialism in Greece
[2] In 1977, politics in Greece experienced a leftward shift, with PASOK gaining popularity and maintaining 25.2% of the vote and 93 seats in parliament.
[1] PASOK's campaign emphasised the importance of assisting “non-privileged” individuals which encompassed a large segment of the Greek population, allowing them to gain popularity.
Papandreou was accused of nepotism and received criticism for employing family members as he gave his wife, Dimitra Liani-Papandreou, the position of director of his private political office.
[12] In the late 1970s, the KKE followed “rigid Marxist-Leninist” ideology whilst also supporting the Soviet Union and opposing Greece's membership with NATO.
[7] In early 2019, Syriza revealed that the government would be providing a range of monetary handouts due to the ongoing negative effects of the Greek economic crisis.
[9] Prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, believed that these handouts would benefit individuals that suffered the most during the economic downturn and that they would also decrease New Democracy's place in the opinion polls.
[16] The Greek National Liberation Front emerged during World War II after German occupants entered Greece in 1941.
[21] He introduced various socialist reforms that aided low income groups, he decreased the voting age to 18 and endorsed trade unions and workers’ councils.
[16] In 2004, Papandreou lost the march election to New Democracy and following his resignation, he founded the political group called the “Democratic Socialist Movement”.
[25] For example, in 2015, Syriza legislated for civil partnership recognition for same-sex couples, with Katrivanou stating that it was a step towards achieving “legal equality in Greece”.
[27] While Syriza has been in office, the party has faced various criticisms, including its failure to effect change in Greece and improve the state of the economy.
Critics of Syriza's socialist policies have claimed that the party has failed to “deliver on its promises” such as removing austerity measures and assisting the large majority of financially disadvantaged citizens.
[28] In 2016, a year after Alexis Tsipras was elected as Prime Minister, Syriza implemented the austerity measures that the party campaigned against prior to their electoral victory.
Following the military dictatorship in the early 1970s, PASOK often appealed to the “non-privileged” citizens of Greece by advocating for social justice issues and for standing up against capitalist establishments that upheld economic privilege.
[6] Andreas Papandreou managed to adopt a populist rhetoric and emphasised socialist and nationalist ideologies which enabled him to gain support for PASOK and win the election in 1981.
[32] In addition, Golden Dawn minister Ilias Kasidiaris expressed his contempt for socialist ideology after he assaulted Liana Kanelli, a communist politician, on live television.
