The Anticapitalist Left Cooperation for the Overthrow (Greek: Αντικαπιταλιστική Αριστερή Συνεργασία για την Ανατροπή, romanized: Antikapitalistiki Aristeri Synergasia gia tin Anatropi), better known domestically by the acronym ΑΝΤ.ΑΡ.ΣΥ.Α.[n 1] (transliterated to English: ANT.AR.SY.A), is a coalition of radical-left political organisations in Greece.
Anticapitalist Left Cooperation for the Overthrow Αντικαπιταλιστική Αριστερή Συνεργασία για την Ανατροπή | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 22 March 2009 |
| Merger of | Radical Left Front United Anti-Capitalist Left |
| Student wing | Attack |
| Ideology | Anti-capitalism[1] Anti-fascism[2] Socialism[3] Euroscepticism[4] |
| Political position | Left-wing[5][6] to far-left[7][8][9][10] |
| Colours | Red |
| Hellenic Parliament | 0 / 300 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 21 |
| Regional councillors | 0 / 611 |
| Municipal councillors | 1 / 8,481 |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Website | |
| antarsya | |
Foundation
editANTARSYA was founded on 22 March 2009 in Athens by organisations and independent militants with origins in the now-defunct coalitions of the Radical Left Front and the United Anti-Capitalist Left. As a member of the latter, the Trotskyist and still-extant Workers Revolutionary Party objected to the foundation of such a coalition and left the UAL.[11]
The Organisation of Internationalist Communists of Greece (Greek: Οργάνωση Κομμουνιστών Διεθνιστών Ελλάδας, romanized: Organosi Kommouniston Diethniston Elladas), a Trotskyist party, participated in the foundation but left after a few weeks, on 18 May 2009,[12] citing objections to what it perceived as the coalition "reformist" focus on parliamentary politics and to the invocation in the foundational document of historical events on which Trotskyists have a very different view.[12][n 2]
Members
editAs of 2023, the coalition's members are the Revolutionary Communist Movement of Greece (EKKE), the New Left Current, (NAR), the Youth of Communist Liberation, the Alternative Ecologists, the Organization of Communist Internationalists of Greece–Spartacus, the Initiative for an anticapitalist revolutionary ANTARSYA, and the Socialist Workers' Party.[13]
Ideology and political platform
editThe coalition describes itself as a "front of the anticapitalist,[1] revolutionary, communist left, and of radical ecology" in Greece. Its major positions are[14]
- Exit from the European Union and the Eurozone, with re-adoption of a national currency,
- Default on Greece's debt, and
- Nationalization without compensation of all major industries in the country.
Τhe formation of ANTARSYA is understood to have been in explicit opposition to what the radical left in Greece assessed as the "social reformism" of Syriza and its leadership, which ultimately stood in support of austerity policies.[15]
The coalition also supports a comprehensive banning of layoffs; a minimum salary, currently determined to the amount of 1,400 euros per month; a reduction of working time to 35 hours per week, without reduction in wages; complete disarmament of the Greek police; the granting of full political and social rights to all immigrants; and an eco-socialist response to the ecological crisis.[14]
Election results
editANTARSYA's participation in the electoral, parliamentary process commenced with the European Parliament elections in June 2009, where the coalition took in 21,951 votes or 0.43% of the total. It participated in the October 4, 2009 general elections, listing candidates in every constituency and obtaining 24,737 votes, or 0.36% of the total.[16]
In the September 2015 Greek legislative election, it formed an alliance with the Workers Revolutionary Party.[17]
Hellenic Parliament
edit| Election | Hellenic Parliament | Rank | Leader | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Seats won | +/− | |||
| 2009 | 24,687 | 0.36% | New | 0 / 300
|
New | 8th | Collective leadership |
| May 2012 | 75,416 | 1.19% | +0.83 | 0 / 300
|
 0
|
13th | |
| Jun 2012 | 20,416 | 0.33% | –0.86 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
12th | |
| Jan 2015[a] | 39,497 | 0.64% | +0.31 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
12th | |
| Sep 2015[b] | 46,183 | 0.85% | +0.21 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
10th | |
| 2019 | 23,239 | 0.41% | –0.44 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
12th | |
| May 2023 | 31,746 | 0.54% | +0.10 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
14th | |
| Jun 2023 | 15,969 | 0.31% | –0.23 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
14th | |
European Parliament
edit| European Parliament | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Election | Votes | % | ±pp | Seats won | +/− | Rank | Leader | EP Group |
| 2009 | 21,951 | 0.43% | New | 0 / 22
|
New | 13th | Collective leadership | − |
| 2014 | 41,307 | 0.72% | +0.29 | 0 / 21
|
0
|
18th | ||
| 2019 | 36,361 | 0.64% | −0.08 | 0 / 21
|
0
|
20th | ||
| 2024 | 20,603 | 0.52% | −0.12 | 0 / 21
|
0
|
18th | ||
Regional elections
edit| Administrative regions of Greece | |||||
| Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
# of overall seats won |
± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 97,499 | 1.79 | 7 / 725
|
||
| 2014 | 128,154 | 2.27 | 9 / 703
|
 2
| |
| 2019 | 87,676 | 1.62 | 13 / 703
|
4
| |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ The Greek word "ανταρσία", with the same pronunciation as ανταρσύα, means "mutiny", "rebellion".
- ^ A few years later, ANTARSYA and the Workers Revolutionary Party formed an electoral alliance for the 2015 general elections. See: Election results.
References
edit- ^ a b "Teachers' union calls for rally over arrest of ANTARSYA protester". Kathimerini. 9 January 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ "ΑΝΤΑΡΣΥΑ και άλλες οργανώσεις καλούν σε αντιφασιστική συγκέντρωση στη Ρηγίλλης στις 6μμ" [ANTARSYA and other organisations call for an anti-fascist demonstration at Righillis square at 6pm]. Documento News (in Greek). 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ Papanikolaou, Panos (4 November 2012). "Τα επτά θανάσιμα αμαρτήματα της Αριστεράς" [The Left's seven deadly sins]. ΑNTARSYA website (in Greek). Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
We are for the socialism that has no yet existed
- ^ "Η ΑΝΤΑΡΣΥΑ για Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση και πόλεμο" [ANTARSYA on the European Union and the war]. Kalimera Arcadia (in Greek). 17 May 2023. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ Alexander, Anila (5 April 2012). "Violent Protests Erupt In Greece After Pensioner Kills Himself Over Debt, Called For Greeks To 'Hang Traitors' At The Square [VIDEO + PHOTOS]". International Business Times. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
Petros Constantinou, an organizer for the left wing Antarsya group that participated in Wednesday's protests, told the Washington Post that the very public nature of the act -and the fact that it was done in front of Parliament- made it political.
- ^ "Greek retiree's suicide prompts new protest plans". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
It was clearly a political act," said Petros Constantinou, organizer for the left wing Antarsya group that participated in Wednesday's protests. "The fact that a person reached the point of giving his life to change the situation shows ... where the policies of austerity and poverty have brought people.
- ^ Kouvelakis, Stathis (11 June 2019). "Syriza's Failure Has Hurt Us All". Jacobin. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
Varoufakis's success and the relatively honorable score for Kostantopoulou only make the defeats for Popular Unity (a political front created in the summer of 2015 by Syriza's Left Platform after it left the party) and Antarsya (the far-left coalition founded in 2009) more painful, especially for the former, not least in a contest in which the pressure to vote tactically for bigger parties is much lesser than in a national-level general election.
- ^ Baboulias, Yiannis; Seth-Smith, Niki (3 July 2015). "Letter from Athens: Greece divided over exit as anarchists and neo-Nazis wait in the wings". International Business Times. Athens. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
In February, the far-left Antarsya group called on the wider left to "co-ordinate their forces and to invite workers, the people and youth and put up a large movement against the agreement".
- ^ Kouvelakis, Stathis (February 2016). "Syriza's Rise and Fall". New Left Review (97): 45–70. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
The far-left Antarsya coalition has some potentially very interesting activists and could have contributed, but they were too sectarian.
- ^ Georgiopoulou, Tania (10 May 2017). "More than 2,500 refugees live in Athens squats". Kathimerini. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
At the same time, the municipal council spokesman for the far-left ANTARSYA party, Petros Constantinou, said the money raised from the squat's one-year anniversary events will be used to pay the "former owner's" workers money that is owed to them.
- ^ Anastassiadis, Tassos (31 January 2009). "On January 31, the Greek anti-capitalist left will launch the perspective of its convergence!". International Viewpoint. No. 408. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Aνακοίνωση Τυπου: Γιατί αποχωρήσαμε από την ΑΝΤΑΡΣΥΑ" [Press Release: Why we departed from ANTARSYA] (in Greek). Organisation of Internationalist Communists of Greece. 18 May 2009. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ "Ποιοί είμαστε" [Who we are]. ANTARSYA website (in Greek). Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Το πολιτικό πλαίσιο της ΑΝΤΑΡΣΥΑ" [The political platform of ANTARSYA]. ANTARSYA website (in Greek). 22 March 2009. Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ Hardy, Simon; Cooper, Luke (2013). Beyond Capitalism?: The Future of Radical Politics. Zero Books. ISBN 978-1780998329.
- ^ Sartzekis, Andreas (October 2009). "Greece:The Right is routed in the legislative elections". International Viewpoint. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ "EEK and ANTARSYA join forces for snap elections in Greece". RedMed. 4 September 2015. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.