Popular Orthodox Rally edit
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Popular Orthodox Rally edit
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| Λαϊκός Ορθόδοξος Συναγερμός Laïkós Orthódoxos Synagermós Popular Orthodox Rally |
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| Leader | Georgios Karatzaferis |
| Founded | 14 September 2000 |
| Headquarters | 1, Eratosthenous & Vas. Konstantinou 116 35 Athens |
| Political Ideology | National conservatism, Populism, Euroscepticism, Social conservatism, National liberalism, Greek nationalism, Christian democracy, Law and order |
| Political Position | right-wing (populist/nationalist) |
| International Affiliation | |
| European Affiliation | AIDE |
| European Parliament Group | IND/DEM |
| Colours | |
| Website | www.laos.gr (in Greek) |
| See also | Politics of Greece |
The Popular Orthodox Rally or The People's Orthodox Rally (Greek: Λαϊκός Ορθόδοξος Συναγερμός, Laïkós Orthódoxos Synagermós), often abbreviated to ΛΑ.Ο.Σ. (LA.O.S.) as a pun on the Greek word for people, is a Greek right-wing populist political party, founded and led by journalist Georgios Karatzaferis. Karatzaferis formed LAOS in 2000, a few months after he was expelled from the centre-right liberal New Democracy.
In 2004, LAOS secured support from the Party of Hellenism and the Hellenic Women's Political Party. In 2005 LAOS absorbed the nationalist Hellenic Front1.
The youth branch of LAOS is the Youth of the Orthodox Rally (NEOS). The "Popular Orthodox Rally" is a member of the Independence and Democracy group (IND/DEM) of the European Parliament.
The party received 3.8% of the vote in the 2007 elections, electing 10 members of parliament. Previously, the party failed to reach the 3% threshold of the popular vote in the 2004 elections, with 2.2%; three months later it gained 4.12% of the vote and one seat in the 2004 European Parliamentary Elections.
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According to the Popular Orthodox Rally, "the demarcation of the political world in the Right Wing and the Left Wing is not relevant anymore after the end of the Cold War. Nowadays, everyone in every aspect of his or her everyday life is either in favour or against Globalization". The party consists of radically diverse groups that span the entire Left-Right political spectrum. Party president Karatzaferis, speaking on the 6th anniversary of the party's creation, stated "We are united in the only party that has in its ranks labourers and scientists, workers and the unemployed, leftists and rightists".2
Karatzaferis has described Popular Orthodox Rally as "a profoundly democratic party", consisting of everything from a "pre-dictatorship Right" to a merger of Left and Right to a "Popular Liberalism" in official party literature. He has also stated that he supports "patriotism and social solidarity, taking from all ideologies and personalities I like. I don't care if it's called communism, liberalism or socialism."3
The Popular Orthodox Rally has been characterized as "far-right" 45678, "populist", "right-wing"910 and "nationalist". There have been claims that Popular Orthodox Rally began as a nationalist party with an Orthodox Christian religious identity, but has steadily broken with this image since 2002. More radical nationalists, such as Konstantinos Plevris, have since then left the party, with some of them having joined Patriotic Alliance or other minor political organizations.
Of the ten Popular Orthodox Rally candidates who entered the parliament in 2007, two are considered to be part of the "nationalist bloc", Makis Voridis and Thanos Plevris. Some media raise the number of the "nationalist bloc" to four, also including: Adonis Georgiadis and Kiriakos Velopoulos.11
The main points of the Popular Orthodox Rally platform are as follows:12
The now MP, Adonis Georgiades, has been accused of marketing a controversial book by far-right author and Supreme Court lawyer Konstantinos Plevris entitled "Jews: The Whole Truth" on his program on Teleasty. For this book, Plevris was indicted by the Greek District Attorney on charges of inciting racial violence13. Georgiades has countered the accusations against him by saying that he sells these books like any other Greek bookstore, saying that he disagrees with the content of the book and that he has not mentioned their title or controversial content in his program.14
According to the leftwing Ios Press, in 2001 Karatzaferis had challenged the Israeli ambassador in Greece to come and discuss the "Auschwitz and Dachau myth" with him15. He had also stated that the Protocols of Zion are being put into effect,16 claimed that "the Pope and the Jews are conspiring against Greece" and suggested that "the Jews" were responsible for the 11 September, 2001 attacks.
Karatzaferis has recognized the killing of six million Jews by Nazi Germany17 and has signed a motion for a resolution against anti-Semitism and racism.18. According to official party literature which Karatzaferis read before a press conference in 2007, the party "objects to every type of social marginalization, to every phenomenon of racism, intolerance, and anti-semitism and fully respects all nations and religions"19. During the same press conference Karatzaferis stated that he had received an invitation from the World Jewish Council to one of their events but, as the event was eventually cancelled, he was not able to attend.
Jewish candidate Mihail Gkiolman ran on the party's ticket in both the Greek local elections, 2006 and the Greek legislative election, 2007.20
According to Ios Press, Karatzaferis had related through his television broadcast in 2002 his conviction that "1/3 of Greek congressmen are passive homosexuals with Albanian stallions."21 Later on, Popular Orthodox Rally saw criticism both internally and from its voters over an apparent reversal of its stance with regards to homosexuality. Along with voting for the "European Parliament resolution on homophobia in Europe," Karatzaferis has himself met with homosexual activists and given interviews to homosexual magazines in which he said that "two adults should be able to freely live together and their relationship include certain legal recognition" and that "homophobia must be fought".22
Karatzaferis has claimed that the only internal disagreement came from the leftist Efthimios Droulias, though it is believed that such positions are partly responsible for the exodus of nationalists and conservatives from the party. Another controversy erupted when singer and LAOS candidate Efi Sarri stated "I want all the young sexy girls and boys, foreigners, and homosexuals with me. Specifically for my gay friends, I will try to guarantee safeguards of their property, when one of the two dies, through the achievement of civil marriages or some contract". According to sources with Eleftheros Kosmos, the telephone centers of Teleasty and LAOS were flooded with thousands of indignant callers.23
During the 2007 elections, Vaitsis Apostolatos, a sex-therapist and TV personality who has repeatedly expressed his tolerance and open-mindedness vis-a-vis homosexuality was elected as a LAOS MP for Piraeus.
LAOS continues to support a “legal recognition” for homosexual couples but not in the form of “marriage”. When the mayor of the Greek island of Tilos presided over the first homosexual civil marriages the party released a statement deploring "the cruel reality that we are living in the society of HOMOS" (sic) and stated that the way things were going “the next step is the prohibition of heterosexual marriage for being racist and a tool for the subjugation of one sex to the other".24
During the LAOS party convention of 2006 in Thessaloniki, presided by Georgios Karatzaferis, a participant gave an extended arm salute (resembling the Nazi salute) while the national anthem was being played, in presence of the full assembly at the closure of the conference. This motion, videotaped by a television station, predictably caused a stir in Greek public discourse and the media. Though some have made light of the fact that neither Karatzaferis nor any of the other participants in LAOS's convention "displayed the slightest reaction" at the gesture, the fact remains that there were 2,500 individuals present during the convention and no other such salute was given.
Later on, Karatzaferis claimed that he had not seen the Roman salute, and accused rival parties (specifically, New Democracy) of "planting" the person in order to discredit his party. Given that registration was open to the general public there is no conclusive evidence that the individual in question was a member or even supporter of the party.
Furthermore, even political analysts who regard the party as "far-right" acknowledge that there is "no Nazi or fascist culture here, so it is not in the mould of Jean-Marie Le Pen's party, but more populist in character".25 In addition, throughout its entire history, the party has consistently denounced fascism. Makis Voridis has stated that Fascism and Nazism are responsible for "wantom and monstrous crimes against humanity".26
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