Popular Orthodox Rally
Encyclopedia
The Popular Orthodox Rally or The People's Orthodox Rally (Greek
: Λαϊκός Ορθόδοξος Συναγερμός, Laikós Orthódoxos Synagermós), often abbreviated to ΛΑ.Ο.Σ (LAOS) as a pun
on the Greek word for people, is a Greek
party. According to its political program LA.O.S. declares officially to be an absolutely democratic, "orthodox" popular, anthropocentric, modern, hellenocentric, not dogmatically anti-American or anti-European or nationalistic or rightist extremistic or racist or religious fundamentalist party. Other sources declare LA.O.S. to be a right-wing populist
political party
. It was founded and led by journalist Georgios Karatzaferis
. Karatzaferis formed LAOS in 2000; a few months after he was expelled from the centre-right New Democracy
.
In 2004, LAOS secured support from the Party of Hellenism and the Hellenic Women's Political Party. In 2005, LAOS absorbed the ultra-nationalist Hellenic Front
. The youth branch of LAOS is the Youth of the Orthodox Rally
(NEOS). The Popular Orthodox Rally is a member of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy
group in the European Parliament
, and was a member of the Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe
Europarty
until the AIDE's dissolution in 2008.
The party failed to reach the 3% threshold of the popular vote in the 2004 elections
, with 2.2%; three months later it gained 4.12% of the vote and one seat in the 2004 European Parliamentary Elections
. LAOS received 3.8% of the vote in the 2007 elections, electing 10 members of parliament. In 2009 LAOS managed to elect
two representatives in the European Parliament
, receiving 7.14% of the vote. In the 2009 elections
LAOS received 5.63% of the vote, electing 15 members of parliament.
of the political world into the Right Wing
and the Left Wing
is no longer relevant after the end of the Cold War
. Nowadays, everyone in every aspect of his or her everyday life is either in favour or against Globalization
". The party claims to consist of radically diverse groups that span the entire Left-Right political spectrum
. Party president Karatzaferis, speaking on the 6th anniversary of the party's creation, stated "We are united in the only party that has in its ranks labourers and scientists, workers and the unemployed, leftists and rightists".
Karatzaferis has described the Popular Orthodox Rally as "a profoundly democratic party", consisting of everything from a "pre-dictatorship Right" to a merger of Left and Right to a "Popular Liberalism" in official party literature. He has also stated that he supports "patriotism and social solidarity
, taking from all ideologies and personalities I like. I don't care if it's called communism, liberalism or socialism."
However, the Popular Orthodox Rally is often characterized by opposing politicians and in the media as "far-right", "populist", "radical right", "right-wing" and "nationalist". It has also been argued that its founding declaration (now withdrawn from the web) included antidemocratic, anti-parliamentary ideas, and the proposal that decisions should be taken by a council, which would include military officers and Church officials. The Popular Orthodox Rally began as a party with an Orthodox Christian religious identity, but also one with a radically nationalist political identity. Although it has since allegedly tried to 'moderate' the nationalist part of its appeal, with some of an extreme-nationalist or neo-fascist bent, such as Konstantinos Plevris, then leaving the party to join Patriotic Alliance
or other fringe political organizations, more extreme-nationalists have recently once again joined its ranks and been elected to parliament. Of the ten Popular Orthodox Rally candidates who entered the parliament in 2007, four are considered to be part of the "nationalist bloc," Makis Voridis, Thanos Plevris, Adonis Georgiadis, and Kiriakos Velopoulos.
Kostas Kiltidis (Joined LAOS on 19/08/2011)
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Λαϊκός Ορθόδοξος Συναγερμός, Laikós Orthódoxos Synagermós), often abbreviated to ΛΑ.Ο.Σ (LAOS) as a pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
on the Greek word for people, is a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
party. According to its political program LA.O.S. declares officially to be an absolutely democratic, "orthodox" popular, anthropocentric, modern, hellenocentric, not dogmatically anti-American or anti-European or nationalistic or rightist extremistic or racist or religious fundamentalist party. Other sources declare LA.O.S. to be a right-wing populist
Right-wing populism
Right-wing populism is a political ideology that rejects existing political consensus and combines laissez-faire liberalism and anti-elitism. It is considered "right-wing" because of its rejection of social equality and government programs to achieve it, its opposition to social integration, and...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
. It was founded and led by journalist Georgios Karatzaferis
Georgios Karatzaferis
Georgios Karatzaferis is a Greek politician, a member of the Hellenic Parliament and the president of the Popular Orthodox Rally. Previously, Karatzaferis was a member of parliament of the liberal-conservative New Democracy party, from which he was expelled in 2000...
. Karatzaferis formed LAOS in 2000; a few months after he was expelled from the centre-right New Democracy
New Democracy (Greece)
New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...
.
In 2004, LAOS secured support from the Party of Hellenism and the Hellenic Women's Political Party. In 2005, LAOS absorbed the ultra-nationalist Hellenic Front
Hellenic Front
The Hellenic Front was a Greek political party with a strongly nationalist platform, founded in 1994. Its declared raison d'être is to raise national conscience and inspire freedom, creativity, and development by reversing what it sees as dependence on foreign economies and ideas...
. The youth branch of LAOS is the Youth of the Orthodox Rally
Youth of the Orthodox Rally
The Youth of the Orthodox Rally is the youth branch of the Greek political party Popular Orthodox Rally.-External links:*...
(NEOS). The Popular Orthodox Rally is a member of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Democracy is a Eurosceptic political group in the European Parliament. Formed after the European parliamentary election in 2009, it is mostly made up of elements of the now defunct Independence/Democracy and Union for a Europe of Nations groups from the out-going...
group in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, and was a member of the Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe
Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe
The Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe was a political party at European level.-Creation:AIDE was created on 28 October 2005 in the Rhône prefecture...
Europarty
European political party
A European political party, formally a political party at European level, informally a Europarty, is a type of political party organization operating transnationally in Europe and in the institutions of the European Union. They are regulated and funded by the European Union and are usually made up...
until the AIDE's dissolution in 2008.
The party failed to reach the 3% threshold of the popular vote in the 2004 elections
Greek legislative election, 2004
Legislative elections were held in Greece on March 7, 2004. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek Parliament, the Vouli . The New Democracy Party of Kostas Karamanlis won a decisive victory in the elections, ending eleven years of rule by the Panhellenic Socialist Movement .PASOK was led into the...
, with 2.2%; three months later it gained 4.12% of the vote and one seat in the 2004 European Parliamentary Elections
European Parliament election, 2004 (Greece)
The European Parliament election of 2004 in Greece for the election of the delegation from Greece to the European Parliament took place on June 13. The election system used in Greece was a party-list proportional representation with a 3% threshold for any party...
. LAOS received 3.8% of the vote in the 2007 elections, electing 10 members of parliament. In 2009 LAOS managed to elect
European Parliament election, 2009 (Greece)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Greece for the election of the delegation from Greece to the European Parliament in 2009 took place on June 7, 2009. The election system used in Greece is party-list proportional representation with a 3% threshold for any party...
two representatives in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, receiving 7.14% of the vote. In the 2009 elections
Greek legislative election, 2009
Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 4 October 2009. An election was not required until September 2011.On 2 September Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis announced he would request President Karolos Papoulias to dissolve Parliament and call an election...
LAOS received 5.63% of the vote, electing 15 members of parliament.
Ideology
According to the Popular Orthodox Rally, "the demarcationDemarcation
Demarcation is the act of creating a boundary around a place or thing.Demarcation may also refer to:*Demarcation line, a temporary border between the countries...
of the political world into the Right Wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
and the Left Wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
is no longer relevant after the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Nowadays, everyone in every aspect of his or her everyday life is either in favour or against Globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
". The party claims to consist of radically diverse groups that span the entire Left-Right political spectrum
Left-Right politics
The left–right political spectrum is a common way of classifying political positions, political ideologies, or political parties along a one-dimensional political spectrum. The perspective of Left vs. Right is a binary interpretation of complex questions...
. Party president Karatzaferis, speaking on the 6th anniversary of the party's creation, stated "We are united in the only party that has in its ranks labourers and scientists, workers and the unemployed, leftists and rightists".
Karatzaferis has described the Popular Orthodox Rally as "a profoundly democratic party", consisting of everything from a "pre-dictatorship Right" to a merger of Left and Right to a "Popular Liberalism" in official party literature. He has also stated that he supports "patriotism and social solidarity
Solidarity
Solidarity is a Polish trade union federation that emerged on August 31, 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa. It was the first non-communist party-controlled trade union in a Warsaw Pact country. Solidarity reached 9.5 million members before its September 1981 congress...
, taking from all ideologies and personalities I like. I don't care if it's called communism, liberalism or socialism."
However, the Popular Orthodox Rally is often characterized by opposing politicians and in the media as "far-right", "populist", "radical right", "right-wing" and "nationalist". It has also been argued that its founding declaration (now withdrawn from the web) included antidemocratic, anti-parliamentary ideas, and the proposal that decisions should be taken by a council, which would include military officers and Church officials. The Popular Orthodox Rally began as a party with an Orthodox Christian religious identity, but also one with a radically nationalist political identity. Although it has since allegedly tried to 'moderate' the nationalist part of its appeal, with some of an extreme-nationalist or neo-fascist bent, such as Konstantinos Plevris, then leaving the party to join Patriotic Alliance
Patriotic Alliance
Patriotic Alliance was a short-lived Greek nationalist political party, founded in 2004...
or other fringe political organizations, more extreme-nationalists have recently once again joined its ranks and been elected to parliament. Of the ten Popular Orthodox Rally candidates who entered the parliament in 2007, four are considered to be part of the "nationalist bloc," Makis Voridis, Thanos Plevris, Adonis Georgiadis, and Kiriakos Velopoulos.
Platform
The main points of the Popular Orthodox Rally platform are as follows:- No accession of Turkey to the European UnionAccession of Turkey to the European UnionTurkey's application to accede to the European Union was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union and its predecessors since 1963...
- Ban immigration from outside the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and deport all illegal immigrants. - Opposition to the European Constitution and the Lisbon Treaty
- No recognition of the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) as Republic of MacedoniaRepublic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
or under any nomenclatureMacedonia naming disputeA diplomatic dispute over the use of the name Macedonia has been an ongoing issue in the bilateral relations between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia since the latter became independent from former Yugoslavia in 1991...
that includes the term "Macedonia". - Drastic tax cuts for both individuals and small businesses.
Election results
| Results since 2004 (year links to election page) |
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| Year | Type of Election | Votes | % | Mandates | ||||
| 2004 Greek legislative election, 2004 Legislative elections were held in Greece on March 7, 2004. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek Parliament, the Vouli . The New Democracy Party of Kostas Karamanlis won a decisive victory in the elections, ending eleven years of rule by the Panhellenic Socialist Movement .PASOK was led into the... |
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| 2004 European Parliament election, 2004 (Greece) The European Parliament election of 2004 in Greece for the election of the delegation from Greece to the European Parliament took place on June 13. The election system used in Greece was a party-list proportional representation with a 3% threshold for any party... |
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| 2007 | |
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| 2009 European Parliament election, 2009 (Greece) The European Parliament election of 2009 in Greece for the election of the delegation from Greece to the European Parliament in 2009 took place on June 7, 2009. The election system used in Greece is party-list proportional representation with a 3% threshold for any party... |
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| 2009 Greek legislative election, 2009 Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 4 October 2009. An election was not required until September 2011.On 2 September Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis announced he would request President Karolos Papoulias to dissolve Parliament and call an election... |
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| 2010 Greek local elections, 2010 The 2010 Greek local elections were held on 7 November 2010 and 14 November 2010 to elect representatives to Greece's restructured local authorities, comprising 13 regions and 325 municipalities.-Background:... |
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LA.O.S members in the Hellenic Parliament
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Ilias Polatidis Ilias Polatidis is a Greek politician, member of the Popular Orthodox Rally.He was born in Serres. He studied Mechanical engineering in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.He is member of the Popular Orthodox Rally since 2001.... Kyriakos Velopoulos Kyriakos Velopoulos is a Greek nationalist politician and parliament member, and television personality. Born in Germany, his parents were refugee peasants... |
Thanos Plevris Athanasios Plevris or Thanos Plevris is a Greek member of parliament and son of Greek author Konstantinos Plevris. He was elected into office in the 2007 parliamentary election with the Popular Orthodox Rally party.... |