People's Party (Piraea)

People's Party Λαϊκό Κόμμα
Abbreviation	LK
Leader	Georgios Konstantinou
Spokesperson in Senate	Marina Constantinelli
Founded	November 1, 1978 (1978-11-01)
Headquarters	30 General Tavolou, Alikianos
Youth wing	New Generations of the People's Party
Membership (2021)	37,492
Ideology	Conservatism Sotirian democracy Economic liberalism Pro-Eucleanism
Political position	Centre-right
Continental affiliation	ACDE (Observer)
Colours	Blue
Piraean Senate	45 / 125
Website
lk.pr
Political parties

The People's Party (Piraese: Λαϊκό Κόμμα; tr. Laikó Kómma; known mostly by its acronym in Piraese: ΛΚ or LK) is a centre-right, conservative and Sotirian democrat political party of Piraea.

It was formed during the last years of the Second Piraean Republic, in order to face the plebiscite of 1979. The political platform grouped several sectors of the right and centre-right linked to the government and soft reformists. In 1979, the alliance became a formal political party after the merger of Sotirian democrat and liberal parties; it participated in the first general elections of the Third Republic under the leadership of Ioannis Apostolou, who became premier and governed for 6 years until 1985 leading the transition period. The party remained in the opposition until 1993, when under Konstantinos Kondoulis, the party became the main vehicle for the introduction of neoliberal policies and reforms. Kondulis was defeated by Stefanos Xanthos in 2000, but LK returned to power in 2005 with Evangelos Polakis with the first coalition with a far-right party; the confluence of the economic recession and political scandals led to the resignation of Polakis amid mass protests. In the following years, the political party was put in the spotlight over its corruption cases and many of its members were judged by its role in money laundering and corruption networks.

The People's Party has been widely commented to be under an era of Percederation since Polakis' resignation. However, it never lost position of main party of the opposition in the Piraean Senate; although many liberal and anti-corruption escicions were formed. A general congress celebrated in 2019 granted the leadership to the senator and economist Georgios Konstantinou, who became premier during the 2022 general election with a centre-right, Pro-Eucleanist and technocrat platform.

The party has been largely associated with the traditional elites and the highest sectors of the Piraean business world, being usually associated with the Economic Circle of Alikianos and the economic chambers. The party is particularly strong in Foinikas, where it has governed with short briefs since the return of democracy. Its voters base generally consists of wealthy individuals and educated sectors; the party has seen influence from Novalian sectors, which adhere to the Novalian People's Party.

Ideology

Since its conception at the end of the Second Piraean Republic, the People's Party has been identified as the main liberal-conservative party in the Piraean political spectrum. However, over times, it has moved along the shades of the right and centre-right. The party has historically defended the notion of an Episemialist Piraea, and has combined it with aspects of nationalism, even though it has also kept strong ties with its Novalian wing, the Novalian People's Party.

During its initial years under the leadership of Ioannis Apostolou, the party aligned itself with other Sotirian democratic parties of Euclea, taking inspiration and building close ties with the NKP, the SDU, the CLU and most importantly, the Etrurian Federalist Party. As the post-Junta period forced an alignment of Piraean majority sectors with East Euclea, the People's Party exposed a strong pro-Eucleanism advocation that was combined with the economic modernisation and liberalisation of Piraea. The leadership of Konstantinos Kondulis deepened some of these tensions between centrist and rightist factions inside the party, forcing a number of political formations to cover the space to its right, like Homeland and the Centre Union. However, during the last elections lead by Kondulis, the party suffered important losses that forced it to keep alliances with the Centre Union, marking the return of the right core. In 2008, the election of the disruptive and populist candidate Evangelos Polakis marked the return of the right core (controversies happen).

Electoral history

Election year	Leading candidate	Piraean Senate	+/-	Government
1980	Ioannis Apostolou	68 / 125	First elections	Majority government
1982		61 / 125	7	Majority government
1985	Korinna Stathiade-Moustakopoulou	35 / 125	26	Opposition
1988	Konstantinos Kondulis	37 / 125	2	Opposition
1992		41 / 125	4	Opposition
1993		62 / 125	21	Majority government
1999		49 / 125	13	Coalition with EK
2000		31 / 125	18	Opposition
2004	Evangelos Polakis	33 / 125	3	Opposition
2005		47 / 125	14	Coalition with PK
2009	Ignatios Antonioglou	28 / 125	19	Opposition
2013	Theofylaktos Karamanli	30 / 125	2	Opposition
2017		27 / 125	3	Opposition
2018	Gerasimos Miskopoulos	25 / 125	2	Opposition
2022	Georgios Konstantinou	46 / 125	21	Minority government with participation of NNS/NLK
2023		52 / 125	6	Minority government with participation of NNS/NLK

Leaders

• Top left: Ioannis Apostolou was the first premier after the return of democracy.
• Top right: Korinna Stathiade-Moustakopoulou became the first female politician that rose a prominent position.
• Bottom left: Konstantinos Kondoulis was the longest serving LK politician in the office of the premier.
• Bottom right: Georgios Konstantinou is the current premier having held office since 2022.

• Ioannis Apostolou (1979-1985)
• Korinna Stathiade-Moustakopoulou (1985-1992)
• Konstantinous Kondulis (1992-2000)
• Evangelos Polakis (2000-2009)
• Ignatios Antonioglou (2009-2010)
• Theofylaktos Karamanli (2010-2017)
• Gerasimos Miskopoulos (2017-2019)
• Georgios Konstantinou (2019-incumbent)