Politics of GreeceBenedict (Viktor) Gombocz

Geography of Greece • Location: Southeastern Europe,

bordering the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey

• Area▫ Total: 131,957 sq km▫ Country comparison to the world: 97▫ Land: 130,647 sq km▫ Water: 1,310 sq km

• Area – comparitive: Slightly smaller than Alabama

• Land boundaries▫ Total: 1,228 km ▫ Border countries: Albania 282 km,

Bulgaria 494 km, Republic of Macedonia 246 km, Turkey 206 km

• Coastline: 13,676 km

Physical Map of Greece

Religion in Greece • Among Greece’s religions, the biggest

denomination is the Greek Orthodox Church, to which the majority of Greeks belong to, and is legally recognized as the “prevailing religion” of Greece, which makes it one of the only European states with an official state religion.

• Other significant Christian denominations include Catholicism, Hellenic Neopaganism, and Protestantism; the second largest religion practiced in Greece is Islam.

• A 2010 Eurobarometer Poll indicated that 79% of Greek citizens believe in a God; 16% believed in some sort of spirit or life force; 4% said they did not believe there is any kind of God, spirit, or life force.

• A more recent survey, taken in April 2011, carried out by Kapa Research (a major Greek polling firm) per demand of To Vima newspaper, asking Greek citizens if they believe in God or not, 56.3% responded “yes”, 20% responded “probably yes”, 7.7% responded “probably no”, and 13% responded “no”.

Religion statistics • Greek Orthodox (official): 98%• Muslim: 1.3%• Other: 0.7%

Suleiman Mosque, Rhodes

Background of Greece’s political system• The political system of Greece functions in a parliamentary

representative democratic republic; the PM of Greece is the head of government and of a multi-party structure.

• Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Hellenic Parliament.

• Between the reinstatement of democracy in 1974 and the debt crisis that hit Greece in 2010, the political structure was governed by the liberal-conservative New Democracy (Νέα Δημοκρατία – Nea Dimokratia, ΝΔ/ND) and the social-democratic Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα – Panellinio Sosialistiko Kinima, ΠΑΣΟΚ/PASOK).

• The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Background of Greece’s political system – cont. • The 1975 constitution, which defines Greece as a “presidential

parliamentary republic”, lists general certain promises of civil freedoms, vesting the powers of the head of state in a president who is elected by parliament.

• The Greek governmental system resembles that of other Western democracies, and it has been characterized as a compromise between the French and German models.

• While the PM and cabinet play the important role in the political procedure, the president, in addition to formal duties, executes some executive and legislative duties.

• Voting in Greece is necessary, though not obligatory. • Greek politics is depicted as dynastic, with deep-rooted political families

in charge of the positions of power. • This is undoubtedly true for the PMs, even though there are many

Ministers and MPs without relation to political families.

Government of Greece • Capital (and largest city):

Athens• Official language(s): Greek• Demonym: Greek, Hellenic• Government: Unitary

parliamentary constitutional republic

• President: Karolos Papoulias• Prime Minister: Antonis

Samaras• Speaker: Vangelis Meimarakis • Legislature: Parliament

Parties represented in the current Parliament and European Parliament

• New Democracy (Νέα Δημοκρατία; ND, Ν.Δ.)

• Coalition of the Radical Left (Συνασπισμός της Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς; SYRIZA, ΣΥ.ΡΙΖ.Α.)

• Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα; PASOK, ΠΑ.ΣΟ.Κ.)

• Independent Greeks (Ανεξάρτητοι Έλληνες; ANEL, ΑΝ.ΕΛ.)

• Golden Dawn (Χρυσή Αυγή; Chrysi Avgi, Χρυσή Αυγή)

• Democratic Left (Δημοκρατική Αριστερά; DIMAR, ΔΗΜ.ΑΡ.)

• Communist Party of Greece (Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας; KKE, Κ.Κ.Ε.)

• Agreement for the New Greece (Συμφωνία για τη Νέα Ελλάδα; NEEL, ΝΕΕΛ)

• Popular Orthodox Rally (Λαϊκός Ορθόδοξος Συναγερμός; LAOS, ΛΑ.Ο.Σ.)

• Ecologist Greens (Οικολόγοι Πράσινοι; OP, Ο.Π.)

Karolos Papoulias • Born 4 June 1929 in Ioannina.• Current president of Greece, serving since 12

March 2005.• Served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs

from 1985-1989 and from 1993-1996. • Is Major General Gregorios Papoulias’ son.• Studied law at the University of Athens and

the University of Milan; has a doctorate in private international law from the University of Cologne, and is an associate of the Munich Institute for Southeast Europe.

• His native Greek aside, he speaks French, German, and Italian.

• A former pole-vault and volley ball champion, he has been chairman of the National Sports Association since 1985.

• Is also a founding member and until recently president of the Association for the Greek Linguistic Heritage.

• Is married to Maria Panou, with whom he has three daughters.

Antonis Samaras • Born 23 May 1951 in Athens.• PM of Greece since 20 June 2012.• Leader of New Democracy, the major

conservative party in Greece, since 30 November 2009.

• Briefly served as Minister of Finance in 1989; subsequently served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989-1990 and again from 1990-1992.

• Is known for a controversy in 1993, when he effectively caused the New Democracy government, which he was a member of, to lose power; despite this, he rejoined that party in 2004 and was elected its leader in a narrowly fought intra-party election late in 2009.

• Is the seventh leader of New Democracy since it was founded in 1974.

Vangelis Meimarakis • Born 14 December 1953 in Athens; is a Cretan.• Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament since 29 June

2012.• Formerly Minister of National Defense of Greece. • Joined New Democracy in 1974.• Was involved in student union politics while he

studied at Panteion University; was a founding member of ONNED, the New Democracy youth organization.

• Was named chairman of the ONNED Executive Committee in 1984; led that organisation to its first conference in March 1987.

• Has been a member of the New Democracy Central Committee since the second party conference in Thessaloniki.

• Was elected MP for the Athens B constituency for New Democracy in the general elections if 1989 (June and November), 1990, 1993, 1996, and 2000.

• Served as Deputy Minister for Culture (Sports) from 1992-1993.

• Was general secretary of New Democracy until his nomination as Defence Minister on 15 February 2006.

• Is married to Ioanna Kolokota; they have two daughters.

New Democracy • Main centre-right political party; one of

between 2004 and 2009two major parties in Greece.

• Antonis Samaras, its leader, is the PM of Greece.

• Founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and made the Third Hellenic Republic’s first cabinet.

• After it served as Greece’s cabinet and was defeated in a landslide in the 2009 Greek legislative election, in which they received their historical lowest percentage of votes, New Democracy acquired more votes than any single party in the May 2012 legislative election, even though it did not make a majority government.

• Won the most number of votes in the re-run of the election held in June 2012, but failed to obtain a complete majority.

• Nevertheless, it worked out a coalition with PASOK (its primary historic competitor) and DIMAR, making Samaras PM.

• Member of the EPP; currently has 7/22 Greek MEPs in the EP.

Panhellenic Socialist Movement • Centre-left party.• Founded on 3 September 1974

by Andreas Papandreou. • Became the first social

democratic party in Greece to win a majority in the Hellenic Parliament, in 1981.

• Member of Socialist International (International affiliation), Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (EP group), and Party of European Socialists (European affiliation).

Athens

The End (Το τέλος)