Drassi

Drassi (Greek: Δράση, "Action") was a liberal[3][4] political party in Greece. The party was founded in 2009 by Stefanos Manos and was led by former New Democracy member Theodoros Skylakakis. The party had no representation in the Hellenic Parliament or European Parliament. Drassi was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) party.[5]

Drassi
Δράση
LeaderTheodoros Skylakakis
General SecretaryMelina Daskalakis
SpokespersonPanagiotis Michalopoulos
FounderStefanos Manos
Founded2009 (2009)
Dissolved2019 (2019)
Preceded byThe Liberals
Merged intoNew Democracy
Headquarters98Α, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, 11528, Athens
IdeologyLiberalism[1]
Postnationalism
Decentralization
Economic liberalism
Meritocracy
Neoliberalism
Political positionCentre to Centre-right
European affiliationAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
European Parliament groupNo MEPs
SloganCitizens, not clients
Parliament
0 / 300
European Parliament
0 / 22
Regions[2]
39 / 725
Website
www.drassi.gr

History

Stefanos Manos left New Democracy (ND) in 1999 to found The Liberals, before later running on ND and Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) electoral lists in 2000 and 2004 respectively. Unlike The Liberals, Drassi was not founded as an expressly liberal party, but claims to espouse "common sense" as an ideological basis.[6]

In its first contested election, the 2009 European elections, Drassi finished ninth with 0.8% of the vote. It subsequently did not participate in the general election in October 2009.

In the May 2012 legislative election, Drassi ran in electoral alliance with the Liberal Alliance. It won 1.8% of the vote finishing twelfth overall, directly behind the Democratic Alliance and Recreate Greece, which both had similar liberal ideologies to Drassi. Ahead of new elections in June 2012 legislative election, Drassi and the Liberal Alliance formed an electoral pact with Recreate Greece,[7] while the Democratic Alliance, which they had also approached,[1] refused to join them and ran on the New Democracy list instead.[8]

In the 2014 European elections, Drassi ran in electoral alliance with Recreate Greece.[9]

On 5 January 2015, Drassi's leader Skylakakis and the leader of The River party, Stavros Theodorakis, gave a press conference announcing a joint electoral list for the January 2015 legislative election.[10][11]

On 3 September 2015, Drassi decided to again support The River in the upcoming snap September 2015 legislative election.[12][13]

In January 2017, Drassi decided to migrate with ND.[14]

In February 2019, Drassi was suspended.[15]

Ideology

Drassi was in favor of a small and flexible government through the decrease of the portion of Greek government expenses the party considers unnecessary.[16] Moreover, the party supported privatizations of public assets, using the proceeds for the repayment of undervalued Greek debt in secondary capital markets.[16]

Drassi had been described by the media as a "pro-business-party" supporting free-market reforms.[17][18]

Electoral results
Results
2009 European Parliament 38,895 0.76% 0
May 2012 Hellenic Parliament 75.428 1.80%* 0
June 2012 Hellenic Parliament 98,050 1.59%** 0
2014 European Parliament 51,749 0.91%*** 0

* In alliance with Liberal Alliance
** In alliance with Recreate Greece and Liberal Alliance
*** In alliance with Recreate Greece

Footnotes
  1. "Leader of liberal Drassi sees ND and PASOK disappearing", Kathimerini, 10 May 2012, retrieved 25 May 2012
  2. The counselors of the Regions.
  3. Claudia Wiesner; Meike Schmidt-Gleim (2014). The Meanings of Europe: Changes and Exchanges of a Contested Concept. Routledge. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-134-45852-3.
  4. Takis S. Pappas (2014). Populism and Crisis Politics in Greece. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-137-41058-0.
  5. "ALDE Party members | ALDE Party". Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
  6. "Δράση. Περιβάλλον Παιδεία Πολιτισμός - ΚΟΙΝΗ ΛΟΓΙΚΗ". Drassi.gr. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  7. "Parties forge alliances ahead of June vote". Kathimerini. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  8. "Bakoyannis returns to ND fold". Kathimerini. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  9. "Συνεργασία της Δημιουργίας Ξανά με τη Δράση στις ευρωεκλογές". in.gr. 2014-04-22. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  10. "Drassi leader urges party members to stand with Potami". Kathimerini. 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
  11. "Liberal Drassi party joins forces with To Potami in upcoming general elections". 2015-01-06. Archived from the original on 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
  12. "Στηρίζει Ποτάμι η Δράση του Σκυλακάκη". 3 September 2015.
  13. "Ειδήσεις Οικονομία Πολιτική για την Ελλάδα και τον Κόσμο | Skai.gr". 3 September 2015.
  14. "Η Δράση και επίσημα στη ΝΔ -Τι δήλωσε ο Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης | ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΗ". 19 January 2017.
  15. "Αναστολή λειτουργίας για τη Δράση – Στηρίζει τη Νέα Δημοκρατία".
  16. "Δράση. Περιβάλλον Παιδεία Πολιτισμός - Οικονομία". Drassi.gr. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  17. "There are all too many alternatives". The Economist. 2012-05-12. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
  18. "Greek Politicians Debate Election Disaster: 'If We Leave the Euro, Everything Will Be Worse'". Spiegel Online. 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
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