The Communist Party of Greece, Interior (Greek: Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας Εσωτερικού), usually abbreviated as KKE Interior (Greek: ΚΚΕ Εσωτερικού), was a Eurocommunist party existing between 1968 and 1987 in Greece.
Communist Party of Greece (Interior) Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας Εσωτερικού | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | KKE Interior |
| General Secretary | Babis Drakopoulos (first) Leonidas Kyrkos (last) |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Dissolved | 1987 |
| Split from | Communist Party of Greece (KKE) |
| Succeeded by | Greek Left KKE Interior–Renewing Left |
| Youth wing | Greek Communist Youth – Rigas Feraios |
| Ideology | Eurocommunism[1] |
The party was formed after the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) suffered a major split following the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia and the suppression of the Prague Spring. KKE Interior essentially broke ties with KKE's ideological supervision by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and later established bonds with parties such as the Italian Communist Party (PCI), adopting a Eurocommunist perspective.[2]
KKE Interior was greatly active in the struggle against the Regime of the Colonels that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974 through the Panhellenic Antidictatorial Front (abbrev. ΠΑΜ) and its youth wing, the Greek Communist Youth – Rigas Feraios. During the period that followed the overturn of the Regime of the Colonels, known as the Metapolitefsi, the party remained electorally active, either on its own or in broader leftist coalitions. KKE Interior was dissolved some months after its 4th Congress in 1986, splitting into two: the Communist Party of Greece (Interior)-Renewing Left and the Greek Left.[3] Through different routes, both would end up part of the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA).
Notable members
editElectoral results
edit| Results from 1977 to 1985 (year links to election page) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Parliament | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
| 1977 | Hellenic Parliament | 139,356 | 2.72 | 2 | ||||
| 1981 | European Parliament | 275,731 | 5.15 | 1 | ||||
| 1981 | Hellenic Parliament | 76,404 | 1.34 | 0 | ||||
| 1984 | European Parliament | 203,813 | 3.42 | 1 | ||||
| 1985 | Hellenic Parliament | 117,135 | 1.8 | 1 | ||||
References
edit- ^ Panourgiá, Neni (2009). Dangerous Citizens: The Greek Left and the Terror of the State. Fordham Univ Press. p. 199. ISBN 9780823229697.
- ^ Marantzidis, Nikos (2008). "The Communist Party of Greece after the Collapse of Communism (1989-2006) - From Proletarian Internationalism to Ethno-Populism". In Uwe Backes; Patrick Moreau (eds.). Communist and Post-Communist Parties in Europe. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 245. ISBN 978-3-525-36912-8.
- ^ Arthur S. Banks; Thomas C. Muller, eds. (1998). "Greece". Political Handbook of the World. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 365. ISBN 978-1-349-14951-3.