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Democratic Coalition Δημοκρατικός Συνασπισμός
Leader	Fania Zarou
Chairperson	Ermis Grivas
Founder	Karolos Mires
Founded	21 September 1900 (1900-09-21)
Preceded by	Labor Union
Headquarters	30 Stagena Avenue, Xanthi, Lihnidos
Student wing	Coalition of Democratic Students
Youth wing	Coalition of Democratic Youth
Membership (2018)	381,528
Ideology	Progressivism Social liberalism
Colors	Orange
National Assembly	137 / 350
Provincial councils	54 / 140
Provincial governments	5 / 20
Local governments	12,961 / 34,547

The Democratic Coalition (Hellenic: Δημοκρατικός Συνασπισμός), also known as the DC or the Coalition, is a center-left political party in Lihnidos. The DC is one of the two major political parties in Lihnidos. The party was formed in 1900 as a successor to the Labor Union Party. The Labor Union Party was reformed following the death of Amycus Petrides in 1881 who had been elected as leader of the party in 1874. Elected to succeed him, Karolos Mires was a known moderate who had campaigned since his election to the National Assembly for the reformation of the party in order to appeal to a broader base. After years of internal party disputes and debate, the Labor Union Party was officially reorganized into the Democratic Coalition in 1900. Karolo Mires campaigned extensively for the party in the lead up to the 1902 general election. Health complications resulted in Mires's death in 1901 prior to the next years general election, damaging the party leadership's enthusiasm and morale. In the first election since its formation, the party gained twenty-four seats, proving the effectiveness of its rebranding. The Democratic Coalition dominated Lihnidosi politics until the merging of the Conservative Party and National Party into the Conservative-National Alliance in 1947. The party has won fifteen of thirty general elections since its creation. Eight DC prime ministers have led the party in government for sixty years since 1900. The longest serving leader of the party was Sinon Savas who served as party leader for twenty-four years and as prime minister half of that time.

The Democratic Coalition has been the second largest party and the main opposition party in the National Assembly since 2006. The party gained two seats in 2010 and lost seats again in the 2014 general election under Fania Zarou. The 2018 general election resulted in a hung parliament when the Conservative-National Alliance lost its majority by six seats. The Democratic Coalition gained eight seats in the 2018 general election, however it did not have enough seats to form a government following the Populist People's Party signing a confidence and supply agreement with the Conservative-National Alliance. Fania Zarou has served as the leader of the party since 2002 and served as prime minister from 2002 to 2006.

History

Founding

The Democratic Coalition was founded on 21 September 1900 as a successor to the Labor Union Party. Prior to the founding of the Democratic Coalition, the Labor Union Party was one of three parties represented in the National Assembly and had spent a combined forty years in government since its creation in 1818. The creation of the Democratic Coalition was a result of a reformation in the Labor Union Party in an effort to shift party policy towards the center.

The rebranding of the Labor Union Party into the Democratic Coalition was a result of five years of internal party disputes and debate. Following the death of LUP Leader Amycus Petrides in 1881, Karolos Mires was elected to the position of party leader. Mires was a known moderate in the party, and his election as leader was a major blow to the radical wing of the party. Discussion on rebranding the LUP began in 1895 following poor results for the party in the 1894 general election. Mires blamed the poor electoral results on party members' continued support for radical policies despite the party platform having made a shift to the center since Mires's election as leader. The renewed push by Mires and other moderate members of the party for a rebranding of the party was opposed by several members. There were two unsuccessful attempts in 1896 to oust Mires as the leader of the party, and one unsuccessful attempt in 1897. On 19 November 1897, the party, at the behest of Mires and other party leadership, expelled four members of the who had been found attempting to undermine Mires and his allies by spreading false information to the news media.

In 1899, after several years of negotiations within the party, Mires announced the party's intention to be renamed to the Democratic Coalition to the National Board of Elections. The board was quick to review and approve the party's request, which was spurred by the upcoming general election in 1900. The party officially changed names to the Democratic Coalition on 21 September 1900, only weeks before the October general election. The party went on to win an additional twenty-four seats in the election, securing a majority and entering government.

Organization

Structure

The Democratic Coalition is comprised of the national-level party and provincial-level party organizations. While there are constituency-level party associations, these typically have little power in decision making and candidate selection. Most decisions regarding the party's direction, funding, and campaigning are made on the national level by the Democratic Coalition General Headquarters, which is comprised of several committees and boards that report to the party leader and chairman. The Coalition Policy Committee is the most senior committee that directs most party activity. Members of the policy committee are selected by provincial party organizations, who in turn elect the party chairman. The party chairman works in conjunction with the party leader, who is elected from among Deputies in the National Assembly.

Provincial party organizations are responsible for the selection of candidates on the local, constituency, and provincial level. The provincial organizations are often delegated authority over campaigning during elections as well as some monetary responsibilities. The administrative body of the provincial organizations are appointed by the Coalition Policy Committee after receiving input from Deputies and other party representatives from the province. Constituency associations are primarily collections of party supporters who drive "get out the vote" and campaign efforts. These associations have littler say in candidate selection and have no control over party funding.

Membership

As of December 2018 the Democratic Coalition had 381,528 members, making it the second largest political party in Lihnidos following the Conservative-National Alliance. All individuals who had been members of the Labor Union Party had their membership transferred to membership for the Democratic Coalition. There was an increase in members allowing their party membership to expire following the party's rebranding, however the decrease was offset by an increase in new members joining the party. Party membership peaked in the late 1910s, but decreased under Daemon Rosi. Membership levels had recovered by the 1960s and reached its highest point in the 1993. Under Fania Zarou's leadership the party has once again shifted policy to the left, and membership has fluctuated.

The party maintains a membership fee of X25 annually. The membership fee is lowered to X18 if a member is under the age of 25, retired, or is not employed full-time.

Candidates

The Democratic Coalition was the only party to hold party primaries to select candidates until 1957 when the practice ended. The party currently allows provincial party organizations to select candidates on the local, constituency, and provincial levels. The method of selection varies slightly among provinces, however the most common method of selection is based on a candidate's ability to collect signatures. Top signature collectors are typically reviewed by selection committees looking a number of qualities, with one candidate ultimately being selected. In 2017 it was rumored that the party would possibly reintroduce primary elections for the 2018 general election, however there was no change in the candidate selection method.

Funding

The Democratic Coalition's primary funding sources are from labor unions, environmental groups, media corporations, and the financial sector. Soft money from labor unions comprises approximately 45% of the party's donations. Financial contributions by media corporations overwhelmingly go to the Democratic Coalition, with several contributing over 70% of their political contributions to the party. The National Board of Elections reported the total income of the Democratic Coalition in 2018 was X67.1 million with X61.2 million in expenditures.

Electoral campaigns and results

National Assembly

The following table shows the electoral performance of the Democratic Coalition in general elections since the party's creation in 1900.

National Assembly of Lihnidos
Election	Leader	Seats won	+/−	Rank	Government	Notes
1902	Teofile Frangos	160 / 300	24	#1	Government
1906	Teofile Frangos	153 / 300	7	#1	Government
1910	Cassia Reme	155 / 300	2	#1	Government
1914	Kairos Scalas	151 / 300	4	#1	Government
1918	Daemon Rosi	174 / 300	23	#1	Government
1922	Daemon Rosi	169 / 300	5	#1	Government
1926	Daemon Rosi	158 / 300	11	#1	Government
1930	Daemon Rosi	138 / 300	20	#2	Opposition
1934	Sinon Savas	143 / 300	5	#2	Opposition
1938	Sinon Savas	158 / 300	15	#1	Government
1942	Sinon Savas	163 / 300	5	#1	Government
1946	Sinon Savas	157 / 300	6	#1	Government
1950	Sinon Savas	139 / 300	18	#2	Opposition
1954	Sinon Savas	126 / 300	13	#2	Opposition
1958	Evanthia Papa	108 / 300	18	#2	Opposition
1962	Alekos Barberis	114 / 300	6	#2	Opposition
1966	Damaris Gounaris	137 / 300	23	#2	Opposition
1970	Damaris Gounaris	153 / 300	16	#1	Government
1974	Damaris Gounaris	138 / 300	15	#2	Opposition
1978	Mihail Andreadis	135 / 300	3	#2	Opposition
1982	Mihail Andreadis	140 / 300	5	#2	Opposition
1986	Piero Kefalas	139 / 300	1	#2	Opposition
1990	Piero Kefalas	184 / 350	45	#1	Government
1994	Piero Kefalas	184 / 350		#1	Government
1998	Piero Kefalas	168 / 350	16	#1	Government
2002	Fania Zarou	177 / 350	9	#1	Government
2006	Fania Zarou	141 / 350	36	#2	Opposition
2010	Fania Zarou	143 / 350	2	#2	Opposition
2014	Fania Zarou	129 / 350	14	#2	Opposition
2018	Fania Zarou	137 / 350	8	#2	Opposition

See also

• List of political parties in Lihnidos
• List of Lihnidosi general elections
• National Assembly of Lihnidos