Greek Solution
Ελληνική Λύση
Ellinikí Lýsi
PresidentKyriakos Velopoulos
Vice PresidentVasilis Viliardos
Press SecretaryEvaggelos Fanidis
FounderKyriakos Velopoulos
Founded28 June 2016
Split fromPopular Orthodox Rally
New Democracy
HeadquartersIppokratous 10-12, Athens
Youth wingGreek Solution Youth
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing[14] to far-right[21]
ReligionChurch of Greece
European Parliament groupEuropean Conservatives and Reformists[22]
Colours  Light blue
Parliament
12 / 300
European Parliament
1 / 21
Website
elliniki-lisi.gr

The Greek Solution (Greek: Ελληνική Λύση, romanized: Ellinikí Lýsi) a political party in Greece founded by former MP Kyriakos Velopoulos. The party is right wing[10][11] to far-right and has been described as ideologically ultranationalist[2][23] and right-wing populist.[24] The party garnered 3.7% of the vote in the 2019 Greek legislative election, winning 10 out of the 300 seats in the Hellenic Parliament and 4.18% of the vote in the 2019 European Parliament election in Greece, winning one seat in the European Parliament.[25]

History

The party was officially founded in June 2016 by journalist Kyriakos Velopoulos, formerly a Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) member. It had previously been announced that a new party was to be founded by him.[26] A formal presentation of the new party took place in October 2016 at an event in the Peace and Friendship Stadium.[27]

In the 2019 Greek legislative election, the party earned 3.7% of the vote, electing 10 MPs in the Hellenic Parliament. In the May 2019 European Parliament election, the party won 4.2% of the vote, electing a single MEP who sits with the European Conservatives and Reformists group.

Ideology and policies

Greek Solution is a religious[8] ultranationalist party[33] that emphasizes action against illegal immigration,[34][35] including installation of an electric fence on the Greece–Turkey border and detaining illegal immigrants on uninhabited islands as they await deportation. The party also advocates for shutting down NGOs operating in Greece, describing them as "trafficking companies". Velopoulos has expressed admiration for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the governance of his Fidesz party in Hungary, particularly the country's economic and migration policies. He has also claimed the party stands for "Greece first", in reference to U.S. President Donald Trump's America First policy agenda.[36]

According to the party's website, Greek Solution plans to primarily invest in the primary sector of the economy[37] and geostrategy.[38] The party opposes the Prespa agreement and the usage of the word "Macedonia" in the name of the neighbouring Republic of North Macedonia. Greek Solution is in favour of the proclamation of an EEZ and exploitation of the mineral wealth of Greece for heavy industry. It also supports the restructuring of the educational and health system.[39] Greek Solution supports positions that are favorable to the Church of Greece.[40]

The party expresses its support for economic nationalism.[41][42]

Greek Solution seeks friendly relations with China, India, as well as Russia by taking pro-Russian stances,[43][44] while being skeptical of increased defense cooperation with the United States.[11][38][45] Greek Solution also takes a pro-Israel stance, citing strong Palestine-Turkey relations.[46] In addition, the party expresses Euroscepticism.[47]

Election results

Hellenic Parliament

Election Hellenic Parliament Rank Government Leader
Votes  % ±pp Seats won +/−
2019 208,805 3.70% New
10 / 300
 New #5 Opposition Kyriakos Velopoulos
May 2023 262,529 4.45% +0.75
16 / 300
 Increase 6 #5 Snap election
Jun 2023 231,378 4.44% −0.01
12 / 300
 Decrease 4 #6 Opposition

European Parliament

European Parliament
Election Votes  % ±pp Seats won +/− Rank Leader
2019 236,349 4.18% New
1 / 21
 Increase1 #6 Kyriakos Velopoulos

References

  1. ↑ "Greek elections: landslide victory for centre-right New Democracy party". The Guardian. 7 July 2019. Smaller parties, such as the ultra-nationalist Greek Solution and leftist MeRA25, headed by Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister, were targeting younger Greeks.
  2. 1 2 3 "The unorthodox Greek". POLITICO.eu. 27 September 2019.
  3. ↑ "Dutch minister 'Bloks' Bulgaria's Schengen accession". EURACTIV. 6 June 2019. The ultranationalist pro-Russian Greek Solution (Elliniki Lysi), a newcomer to Greek politics, has joined the conservative ECR group.
  4. ↑ "Citizens' Protection Minister states that 7 suspected jihadists have been arrested in Greece since 2017". Greek City Times. 3 September 2019. In response to a question tabled by the ultra-nationalist Greek Solution (Elliniki Lysi) party, Chrysochoidis presented documents showing that from 2017 until August 14 this year, seven foreign nationals had been apprehended.
  5. ↑ "The Greek election's winners and losers". Macro Polis. 7 September 2019. A new addition to Parliament this time around is ultra-nationalist Greek Solution (Ellinki Lysi), which ran for the first time at the national level and gained almost 210,000 votes.
  6. ↑ "Poll: ND lead over ruling SYRIZA still at 8.5 points". ekathimerini. 13 June 2019. Meanwhile, ultranationalist party Greek Solution was on the cusp of securing parliamentary representation.
  7. 1 2 "Opinion poll: Median ND lead over SYRIZA at 8.5% points". New Greek TV. 14 June 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 "High single-digit difference between ND, SYRIZA in new poll on Thurs". Naftemporiki. 16 May 2019.
  9. ↑ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Greece". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  10. 1 2 Michalopoulos, Sarantis (26 May 2019). "Tsipras calls snap elections after major electoral defeat". euractiv.com. Retrieved 27 May 2019. Newly established right-wing Greek Solution
  11. 1 2 3 "After defeat, Greek PM calls for snap elections". Kathimerini. 27 May 2019. pro-Russian right-wing party Greek Solution with 4.04 percent.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ Psaropoulos, John (1 November 2019). "Human rights community decries new Greek asylum law". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  14. ↑ [10][11][12][13]
  15. ↑ "The Communist Party of Greece took 5.3%, far-right party Greek Solution 3.7% and former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis's MeRA25, the Greek wing of his pan-European movement DiEM25, 3.4%. Golden Dawn, another far-right party, won 2.9%, just missing the 3% threshold to enter parliament". Bloomberg. 8 July 2019.
  16. ↑ "But its weakening became apparent in May's European Parliament polls, when it received 4.87 percent of the vote during an election that saw Greek Solution, a newly formed party on the far right, gain 4.18 percent". Aljazeera. 8 July 2019.
  17. ↑ "Small Euroskeptic, far-right Greek Solution party may squeeze into Euro Parliament". ekathimerini.com. 6 May 2019.
  18. ↑ "A new party on the far right, Greek Solution, which is less extreme and apparently less menacing, may have siphoned away support". Time. 8 July 2019. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019.
  19. ↑ "Dutch and Greek far-right parties join ECR Group". European Interest. 6 June 2019.
  20. ↑ "Greek conservatives return to power with decisive election win". France 24. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  21. ↑ [15][16][17][18][19][20]
  22. ↑ "ECR Group welcome new members". ECR Group.
  23. ↑ Harris Mylonas, After a decade of crisis, Greek politics are turning normal and more technocratic, Washington Post (14 July 2019).
  24. ↑ Zulianello, Mattia (2019). "Varieties of Populist Parties and Party Systems in Europe: From State-of-the-Art to the Application of a Novel Classification Scheme to 66 Parties in 33 Countries" (PDF). Government and Opposition: 4.
  25. ↑ "Nationale Ergebnisse Griechenland| Wahlergebnisse 2019 | 2019 Ergebnisse der Europawahl 2019 | Europäisches Parlament". europawahlergebnis.eu/ (in German). Retrieved 6 July 2019. ΕΛ/EL - Ελληνική Λύση / Greek Solution 4.18
  26. ↑ "Ο Βελόπουλος ανακοίνωσε τη δημιουργία δεξιού φιλορωσικού κόμματος στην Ελλάδα". TheCaller.Gr (in Greek). 17 March 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  27. ↑ "Την "Ελληνική Λύση" θα παρουσιάσει ο Βελόπουλος στο ΣΕΦ". Newpost.gr. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  28. ↑ "Greek elections: landslide victory for centre-right New Democracy party". The Guardian. 7 July 2019. Smaller parties, such as the ultra-nationalist Greek Solution and leftist MeRA25, headed by Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister, were targeting younger Greeks.
  29. ↑ "Dutch minister 'Bloks' Bulgaria's Schengen accession". EURACTIV. 6 June 2019. The ultranationalist pro-Russian Greek Solution (Elliniki Lysi), a newcomer to Greek politics, has joined the conservative ECR group.
  30. ↑ "Citizens' Protection Minister states that 7 suspected jihadists have been arrested in Greece since 2017". Greek City Times. 3 September 2019. In response to a question tabled by the ultra-nationalist Greek Solution (Elliniki Lysi) party, Chrysochoidis presented documents showing that from 2017 until August 14 this year, seven foreign nationals had been apprehended.
  31. ↑ "The Greek election's winners and losers". Macro Polis. 7 September 2019. A new addition to Parliament this time around is ultra-nationalist Greek Solution (Ellinki Lysi), which ran for the first time at the national level and gained almost 210,000 votes.
  32. ↑ "Poll: ND lead over ruling SYRIZA still at 8.5 points". ekathimerini. 13 June 2019. Meanwhile, ultranationalist party Greek Solution was on the cusp of securing parliamentary representation.
  33. ↑ [28][2][29][30][31][32]
  34. ↑ Βελόπουλος: Προσπάθεια στοχοποίησης όσων αντιδρούν στην εγκατάσταση μεταναστών
  35. ↑ "Europe and right-wing nationalism: A country-by-country guide". BBC News. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  36. ↑ "The unorthodox Greek". Politico. 26 September 2019.
  37. ↑ "Ελληνική λύση μέσω γεωργίας". eleftheria.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  38. 1 2 Real.gr. "Ο Βελόπουλος για την "Ελληνική Λύση": Η Δύση μας αδειάζει σε πολλά επίπεδα". Real.gr. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  39. ↑ "Ελληνική Λύση". Ελληνική Λύση (in Greek). Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  40. ↑ "Θα μας σώσει ο Βελόπουλος; | Κώστας Γιαννακίδης". Protagon.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  41. ↑ Kyriazi, Anna (2019). "The general elections in Greece 2019" (PDF). MIDEM-Report 2019-3.
  42. ↑ Όραμά μας η πρωτογενής παραγωγή
  43. ↑ "After defeat, Greek PM calls for snap elections | Kathimerini". 27 September 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2021. and pro-Russian right-wing party Greek Solution with 4.04 percent.
  44. ↑ Georgiadou, Vassiliki. "The State of the Far Right in Greece" (PDF). FES. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  45. ↑ "Greek leaders oppose upgrading defence cooperation with US". Outlook India. 11 January 2020.
  46. ↑ "Ο Βελόπουλος ζήτησε την επαναφορά της θανατικής ποινής". News 24/7. 13 May 2021.
  47. ↑ "Έρχεται το νέο "ρωσικό κόμμα" με το όνομα "Ελληνική Λύση", αναφέρει το γερμανικό Stern". 4 November 2016.
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