People's Party (Piraea)

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People's Party

Λαϊκό Κόμμα
AbbreviationLK
LeaderGeorgios Konstantinou
Spokesperson in SenateMarina Constantinelli
FoundedNovember 1, 1978 (1978-11-01)
Headquarters30 General Tavolou, Alikianos
Youth wingNew Generations of the People's Party
Membership (2021)Increase 37,492
IdeologyConservatism
Sotirian democracy
Economic liberalism
Pro-Eucleanism
Political positionCentre-right
Continental affiliationACDE (Observer)
Colours  Blue
Piraean Senate
45 / 125
Website
lk.pr

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.

History

Ioannis Apostolou (1979-1985)

Konstantinous Kondulis (1992-2000)

Evangelos Polakis (2005-2009)

Karamanli-Miskopoulos (2009-2019)

Georgios Konstantinou (2019-)

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
Decrease 7 Majority government
1985 Korinna Stathiade-Moustakopoulou
35 / 125
Decrease 26 Opposition
1988 Konstantinos Kondulis
37 / 125
Increase 2 Opposition
1992
41 / 125
Increase 4 Opposition
1993
62 / 125
Increase 21 Majority government
1999
49 / 125
Decrease 13 Coalition with EK
2000
31 / 125
Decrease 18 Opposition
2004 Evangelos Polakis
33 / 125
Increase 3 Opposition
2005
47 / 125
Increase 14 Coalition with PK
2009 Ignatios Antonioglou
28 / 125
Decrease 19 Opposition
2013 Theofylaktos Karamanli
30 / 125
Increase 2 Opposition
2017
27 / 125
Decrease 3 Opposition
2018 Gerasimos Miskopoulos
25 / 125
Increase 2 Opposition
2022 Georgios Konstantinou
46 / 125
Increase 21 Minority government
with participation of NNS/NLK
2023
52 / 125
Increase 6 Minority government
with participation of NNS/NLK

Leaders