Course of Freedom
{{Short description|Political party in Greece}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox political party
| name = Course of Freedom
| native_name = {{lang|el|Πλεύση Ελευθερίας}}
| logo = Πλεύση Ελευθερίας.svg
| logo_size = 150px
| president = Zoe Konstantopoulou
| founder = Zoe Konstantopoulou
| ideology = {{nowrap begin}}Left-wing nationalism{{refn|[https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/03/macedonia-greece-balkans-nationalism-nato The Macedonia Question] "...they also touched a chord on sectors of a "patriotic left"...the rally was also supported by Zoe Konstantopoulou, the former president of the Greek parliament and founder of the "Course of Freedom" movement", Jacobin.com by Stathis Kouvelakis March 2018, Retrieved 24 June 2019}}
Sovereigntism[https://jacobin.com/2023/06/greece-general-election-syriza-new-democracy#:~:text=The%20Surprising%20Rise%20of%20Zoe%20Konstantopoulou Syriza's Electoral Quagmire Reflects Its Crushing of Greeks' Hopes], Jacobin.com 6 September 2023, Retrieved 16 May 2023
Anti-austerity{{refn|{{cite news |title=Zoe Konstantopoulou: Each child in Greece owes 32,500 euros |url=https://en.protothema.gr/zoe-konstantopoulou-each-child-in-greece-owes-32500-euros/ |access-date=24 May 2023 |work=ThemaNews |publisher=Proto Thema |date=31 May 2015}}[https://jacobin.com/2023/06/greece-election-new-democracy-right-wing-parliament#:~:text=did%20win%20seats).-,Course%20for%20Freedom,-was%20also%20a Greece Just Elected the Most Right-Wing Parliament Since the Return to Democracy "Course for Freedom"] Jacobin 28 June 2023, Retrieved 29 June 2023}}
Left-wing populism{{refn|{{cite journal |title=Populist parties in Central and Eastern Europe: Regional trends in comparative perspective |doi=10.13137/2611-2914/35183 |issn=2611-2914 |journal=Poliarchie/Polyarchies |issue=Special Issue 2023 |location=Trieste |year=2023 |publisher=EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste |page=63 |quote="Among them, the top performer was Greece (28.4%) thanks to the combined result of three left-wing populist parties (see Tsatsanis et al. 2021): SYRIZA (23.8%), the European Realistic Disobedience Front (3.0%) and Course of Freedom (1.6%)." |last1=ZULIANELLO |first1=MATTIA }}}}
Progressivism{{refn|[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/09/greece-alexis-tsipras-syriza-austerity-eu If you love Greece, help us get rid of Alexis Tsipras and his zombie party] : "We ask for the support of all progressives, including our friends in the Labour party..." The Guardian by Zoe Konstantopoulou 7 September 2018, Retrieved 24 June 2019{{Cite news |date=23 June 2023 |title=Why Greece's Left May Give Conservatives A Smooth Sail To Victory |work=HuffPost |publisher=The Huffington Post |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/greece-left-election_n_6492a754e4b041b71a12c681/amp |access-date=10 September 2023}}}}
Hard Euroscepticism{{refn|}}{{nowrap end}}
| position = Left-wing{{refn|{{cite web |title=Why the Left Fell and the Right Rose in Greece |first1=Mehmet |last1=Uğur Ekinci |first2=Yusuf |last2=Yusufoğlu |date=July 31, 2023 |url=https://politicstoday.org/greece-elections-left-fell-right-rose-to-power/ |website=Politics Today |quote="There is fierce competition among left-wing parties to fill the vacuum left by SYRIZA's decline. The Course of Freedom (PE) party, led by Zoe Konstantopoulou, a former SYRIZA member, managed to enter the parliament with a program close to the radical views that SYRIZA advocated before it came to power."}}{{cite web |url=https://neoskosmos.com/en/2024/02/22/news/cyprus/minister-christos-stylianides-causes-a-stir-with-cyprus-is-half-turkish-comment/ |title=Minister Christos Stylianides causes a stir with "Cyprus is half Turkish" comment |date=22 February 2024 |website=Neos Kosmos |quote="This comment garnered reactions from Greek and Cypriot politicians and parties, with far-right Ελληνική Λύση (Greek Solution) party MP Kostas Hitas saying he had been "left speechless" and left wing Course of Freedom party leader Zoe Konstantopoulou demanding a retraction."}}{{cite web |url=https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/conservatives-win-greek-elections/ |title=Conservatives win Greek elections |date=26 June 2023 |website=Azərbaycan24 |quote="Another newcomer in the legislature is the left-wing Course of Freedom party, whose leader Zoe Konstantopoulou briefly served as speaker in 2015." |first=Aris |last=Messinis}}{{cite web |url=https://www.tovima.com/politics/postal-vote-for-euro-parliament-elex-referendums-passed-by-ruling-party-majority/ |title=Postal Vote for Euro-Parliament Elex, Referendums Passed By Ruling Party Majority |date=24 January 2024 |website=To Vima |quote="Voting in favor were all 158 MPs of ruling New Democracy (ND) party, while six deputies of the small left-wing "Plefsi Eleftherias" (Course of Freedom) party – founded and headed by former Parliament president Zoe Konstantopoulou – voted "present"."}}{{cite web |website=SWI swissinfo |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/explainer-greece-s-election-on-sunday-how-the-system-works/48612796 |title=Explainer-Greece's election on Sunday: how the system works |date=22 June 2023 |quote="Opinion polls suggest that up to seven parties could enter parliament, including the leftist Plefsi Eleftherias, founded by former Syriza lawmaker Zoe Konstantopoulou, and a newly set up far-right party called Spartans." |first=Renee |last=Maltezou |editor=Frances Kerry}}}} to far-left{{refn|{{cite news |title=With Resounding Win in Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis Tightens Grip on Power |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/25/world/europe/greece-election-kyriakos-mitsotakis.html |quote="Syriza also had to contend with increased support for hard-left fringe parties, including Sailing for Freedom, which was formed by the former Syriza official Zoe Konstantopoulou and was poised to gain national representation for the first time." |access-date=16 June 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=25 June 2023}}{{cite news |date=26 June 2023 |title=Greek prime minister earns resounding electoral win, as far right makes gains |work=Edition CNN |publisher=CNN |quote="As well as a strong showing for far-right groups, the eight-party parliament will also include a party on the far-left, Course for Freedom, led by a former Syriza official." |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/25/europe/kyriakos-mitsotakis-elections-victory-intl/index.html |access-date=27 June 2023}}{{cite web |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/1214126/the-true-message-from-the-ballot-box/ |title=The true message from the ballot box |website=Kathimerini |author=e-Kathimerini |date=27 June 2023 |access-date=29 June 2023 |quote="The entry into Parliament of three far-right parties and the radical leftist Course of Freedom is, without doubt, the most alarming message to emerge from Sunday's general election."}}{{cite news |title=The underground of new parties in the European Parliament |url=https://www.eunews.it/en/2024/06/10/pro-life-pro-russian-populists-and-nazi-sympathisers-european-parliaments-new-parties-underground/ |access-date=16 June 2024 |work=EUnews |date=10 June 2024 |quote="It is a different matter for Course for Freedom (PE), a far-left party critical of Israel's response to the Nov. 7 attacks, anti-austerity and against neo-liberalism, which describes itself as "anti-establishment" with respect to the EU policies conducted so far."}}{{cite journal |url=https://geopolitique.eu/en/articles/parliamentary-elections-in-greece-may-june-2023/ |title=Parliamentary elections in Greece, May-June 2023 |journal=Elections in Europe: 2023 |publisher=Electoral Bulletins of the European Union |issue=4 |first=Anna |last=Kyriazi |quote="Apart from the parties already possessing parliamentary representation, a few smaller ones also seemed to have a realistic chance of passing the 3% electoral threshold. Course of Freedom-Πλεύση Ελευθερίας (CoF), a party founded by Zoe Konstantopoulou, a formerly prominent member of SYRIZA, was one of them. The party is generally considered radical left, though on many issues it sits uneasily on the left-right axis and is first and foremost characterized by its profoundly anti-establishment stance and hard Euroscepticism (Kordas 2023)."}}{{cite journal |title=The 2023 Elections in Greece and Spain: Evolving Party Systems in Post-Crisis Southern Europe |date=27 August 2024 |doi=10.1111/jcms.13658 |first1=Susannah |last1=Verney |first2=Bonnie N. |last2=Field |journal=Journal of Common Market Studies |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=217–233 |quote="The third new entrant, Course of Freedom (Πλεύση Ελευθερίας), was founded as a radical left party in 2016 by a former SYRIZA parliamentary speaker."|doi-access=free }}{{cite web |url=https://www.macropolis.gr/?i=portal.en.newsletter-articles.14940 |title=PM's choice for president elected as ND fights back over Tempe |date=14 February 2025 |website=MacroPolis |quote="The survey's measure of voting intentions found considerable support for Course of Freedom, the far left populist party led by Zoe Konstantopoulou, and the nativist far right Voice of Reason led by Afroditi Latinopoulou."}}}}
| foundation = {{Start date and age|2016|4|19|df=y}}
| split = Popular Unity[https://tvxs-gr.translate.goog/news/ellada/lafazani-eyxomaste-kali-epityxia-stin-pleysi-eleytherias-tis-zois&dr=tvxsmrstvxs?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp Lafazanis: We wish you success in the "Freedom Sailing" of Zoi] :"Panagiotis Lafazanis commented on the change of course of Zoe Konstantopoulou, who separated her position from LAE by founding the "Pleusi Eleftherias" party." TV without Frontiers 19 April 2016, Retrieved 26 June 2023
| colours = {{Color box|{{party color|Course of Freedom}}|border=darkgray}} Purple
{{Color box|#00ACC8|border=darkgray}} Turquoise
| europarl = Non-Inscrits
| seats1_title = Hellenic Parliament
| seats1 = {{Composition bar|6|300|hex={{party color|Course of Freedom}}}}
| seats2_title = European Parliament
| seats2 = {{Composition bar|1|21|hex={{party color|Course of Freedom}}}}
| colorcode = {{party color|Course of Freedom}}
| slogan = "We look neither right nor left. We look forward."[https://www-ertnews-gr.translate.goog/roi-idiseon/z-konstantopoulou-i-epithesi-stin-pleysi-eleytherias-den-einai-oute-ek-ton-eso-oute-aythormiti/?amp&_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp Z. Konstantopoulou: "The attack on the Freedom Cruise is neither from within nor spontaneous"] : "...the other parties are even stealing the slogans of Freedom of Navigation. In particular, "since 2019, we have been saying "we are neither looking to the right nor to the left, we are looking forward...", ERT, Ert-news 12 June 2023, Retrieved 22 June 2023{{paragraph break}}"We will change the world with Love"{{cite news |title=Freedom Sail: Zoe Konstantopoulou continues her... heart-warming speech - "We will change the world with love" (Video) |url=https://www-parapolitika-gr.translate.goog/politiki/article/1283949/pleusi-eleutherias-sunehizei-tis-kardoules-i-zoi-konstadopoulou-tha-allaxoume-ton-kosmo-me-agapi-video/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp |access-date=3 March 2025 |agency={{ill|Parapolitika|el|Παραπολιτικά}} |date=21 June 2023}}
| country = Greece
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
Course of Freedom ({{langx|el|Πλεύση Ελευθερίας|translit=Plefsi Eleftherias}}) is a Greek anti-establishment{{cite journal |last1=Vasilopoulou |first1=Sofia (2024) |title="Economic Malaise and Political Discontent: An Analysis of the 2024 European Parliament Election in Greece." |journal=In: 2024 EP Elections Under the Shadow of Rising Populism. (Eds). Gilles Ivaldi and Emilia Zankina. |date=October 29, 2024 |url=https://www.populismstudies.org/economic-malaise-and-political-discontent-an-analysis-of-the-2024-european-parliament-election-in-greece/ |access-date=6 April 2025 |publisher=European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS. October 22, 2024.)}}{{cite web |url= https://europeelects.eu/european-union/greece/ |title= Greece |website= Europe Elects |access-date= 29 July 2019}}[https://www.in.gr/2018/10/21/english-edition/zoe-konstantopoulou-mr-tsipras-executing-contract-killing-country/ Zoe Konstantopoulou: Mr. Tsipras is destroying the country]: "Precisely how would Plefsi Eleftherias describe its political identity? Some critics say that you do not belong to the Left [...] We are a force that aims to overturn the establishment, and we are appealing to all democratically active citizens, without the walls of old-party divisions. We look neither to the Left nor the Right" in.gr 21 October 2018, Retrieved 24 June 2019 political party founded in 2016 by the former President of the Hellenic Parliament, Zoe Konstantopoulou.{{cite news |author=Evgenia Choros |title=Zoe Konstantopoulou to Present New Party 'Course to Freedom' |work=Greek Reporter |url=http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/04/15/zoe-konstantopoulou-to-present-new-party-course-of-freedom/ |date=15 April 2016 |accessdate=2016-05-21}}
History
On 19 April 2016, Zoe Konstantopoulou announced the founding of Course of Freedom. According to its founding declaration, the party's purpose of action consists of democracy, justice, transparency, rights, debt cancellation and claim for World War II reparations.{{cite web |title=Ιδρυτική Διακήρυξη |url=https://www.plefsieleftherias.gr/idrytiki-diakiryxi/ |website=Freedom Sailing|access-date=20 May 2023}}
Konstantopoulou, along with the party, had attended and called for support of the "Macedonia name" anti-Prespa Agreement mass protests of 2018 and 2019, with the slogan "I'm not ceding my homeland", having been the only political figure of the Greek left to openly do so.[https://kosovotwopointzero.com/en/greeks-not-ready-give-name-macedonia/ Greeks not ready to give up the name Macedonia] Kosovo 2.0 9 February 2018, Retrieved 29 June 2023[https://www-in-gr.translate.goog/2019/01/19/politics/kommata/konstantopoulou-de-ekxoro-tin-patrida-mou-den-diagrafo-tin-istoria-tis/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp Konstantopoulou: I am not ceding my homeland, I am not erasing its history] in.gr 19 January 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2023
The party cooperates electorally with the I Don't Pay Movement, whose leaders were included in Course of Freedom's ballot to run in the European and Greek national elections of 2019.{{cite news |title=European elections 2019: The leaders of "I don't pay" on the Konstantopoulou ballot |url=https://www-cnn-gr.translate.goog/politiki/story/172293/eyroekloges-2019-oi-epikefalis-toy-den-plirono-sto-psifodeltio-tis-konstantopoyloy?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp |access-date=30 December 2023 |work=CNN.gr |publisher=CNN |date=9 April 2019}}{{cite news |title=Konstantopoulou: The vote on Freedom Sailing will only be the beginning |url=https://www-cnn-gr.translate.goog/politiki/story/183054/konstantopoyloy-h-psifos-stin-pleysi-eleytherias-tha-einai-mono-i-arxi?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp |access-date=30 December 2023 |work=CNN,gr |publisher=CNN |date=3 July 2019}}
Course of Freedom was able to enter the Hellenic Parliament at the June 2023 legislative election, scoring 3.17% and electing 8 members of Parliament.{{Cite web |last=Schminke |first=Tobias Gerhard |date=5 June 2023 |title=Greek centre-right set to win second election round |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/greek-centre-right-set-to-win-second-election-round/ |access-date= |website=Euractiv |language=en-GB}}
The party condemned attacks on health facilities during the Gaza war after party president Konstantopoulou met with the Palestinian envoy,{{cite news |title=Greece working with UN to send aid to Gaza |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1223940/greece-working-with-un-to-send-aid-to-gaza/ |access-date=30 December 2023 |work=ekathimerini.com |publisher=Kathimerini |date=2 November 2023}} expressing her support for the Palestinian people; she vowed that Course of Freedom will "be the voice" of Palestine in Greece{{cite news |title=Z. Konstantopoulou: Freedom Sailing will be the voice of Palestine in our country |url=https://www-ertnews-gr.translate.goog/eidiseis/ellada/politiki/z-konstantopoulou-i-pleysi-eleytherias-tha-einai-i-foni-tis-palaistinis-stin-xora-mas/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp |access-date=30 December 2023 |work=ERTNews |publisher=Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation |date=2 November 2023}}
In the 2024 European election the party was able to elect one MEP, Maria Zacharia, who is a trade unionist and labourist.{{cite news |title=Nine new hands and 12 old ones heading to Strasbourg |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1241089/nine-new-hands-and-12-old-ones-heading-to-strasbourg/ |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=E-Kathimerini |publisher=Kathimerini |date=10 June 2024}}
Ideology
Course of Freedom was established on an anti-memoranda ideology, based on its founder's Zoe Konstantopoulou's hardliner[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-bailout-idUSKCN0QI0W620150813 Greek ruling party heads toward split before bailout vote] Reuters 13 August 2015, Retrieved 21 June 2023 opposition to austerity, neoliberalism, "tax inequality", Greece's creditors, and the Troika,{{cite news |title=Meet The Latest Rising Greek Political Star Who Says No To Austerity |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/zoe-konstantopoulou-greece_n_55b2a81fe4b0074ba5a4a35b |access-date=16 June 2023 |work=HuffPost |publisher=The Huffington Post |date=24 July 2015}}{{cite news |title=Zoe Konstantopoulou announces new party |url=https://en.protothema.gr/zoe-konstantopoulou-announces-new-party/ |access-date=16 June 2023 |work=themanews.com |publisher=Proto Thema |date=15 April 2016}}{{cite news |title=Greece: Can't pay, is paying |url=https://www.redpepper.org.uk/greece-cant-pay-is-paying/ |access-date=16 June 2023 |publisher=Red Pepper |date=1 February 2016}}{{cite news |title="This is not a time for splitting up, but for convergence." An interview with Zoe Konstantopoulou |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/konstantopoulou-interview/ |access-date=16 June 2023 |publisher=openDemocracy |date=2 March 2016}} and has been seen as "left-wing populist".{{cite news |title=New Greek PM vows to press ahead with ambitious reforms |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/25/conservative-mitsotakis-expected-to-win-greek-general-election |access-date=27 June 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=25 June 2023}} Mattia Zulianello, the professor of political science at the University of Trieste, also classified the party as left-wing populist. The party has been described by political commentators as left-wing,{{cite web |title=Why the Left Fell and the Right Rose in Greece |first1=Mehmet |last1=Uğur Ekinci |first2=Yusuf |last2=Yusufoğlu |date=July 31, 2023 |url=https://politicstoday.org/greece-elections-left-fell-right-rose-to-power/ |website=Politics Today |quote="There is fierce competition among left-wing parties to fill the vacuum left by SYRIZA's decline. The Course of Freedom (PE) party, led by Zoe Konstantopoulou, a former SYRIZA member, managed to enter the parliament with a program close to the radical views that SYRIZA advocated before it came to power."}}{{cite web |url=https://neoskosmos.com/en/2024/02/22/news/cyprus/minister-christos-stylianides-causes-a-stir-with-cyprus-is-half-turkish-comment/ |title=Minister Christos Stylianides causes a stir with "Cyprus is half Turkish" comment |date=22 February 2024 |website=Neos Kosmos |quote="This comment garnered reactions from Greek and Cypriot politicians and parties, with far-right Ελληνική Λύση (Greek Solution) party MP Kostas Hitas saying he had been "left speechless" and left wing Course of Freedom party leader Zoe Konstantopoulou demanding a retraction."}}{{cite web |url=https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/conservatives-win-greek-elections/ |title=Conservatives win Greek elections |date=26 June 2023 |website=Azərbaycan24 |quote="Another newcomer in the legislature is the left-wing Course of Freedom party, whose leader Zoe Konstantopoulou briefly served as speaker in 2015." |first=Aris |last=Messinis}}{{cite web |url=https://www.tovima.com/politics/postal-vote-for-euro-parliament-elex-referendums-passed-by-ruling-party-majority/ |title=Postal Vote for Euro-Parliament Elex, Referendums Passed By Ruling Party Majority |date=24 January 2024 |website=To Vima |quote="Voting in favor were all 158 MPs of ruling New Democracy (ND) party, while six deputies of the small left-wing "Plefsi Eleftherias" (Course of Freedom) party – founded and headed by former Parliament president Zoe Konstantopoulou – voted "present"."}}{{cite web |website=SWI swissinfo |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/explainer-greece-s-election-on-sunday-how-the-system-works/48612796 |title=Explainer-Greece's election on Sunday: how the system works |date=22 June 2023 |quote="Opinion polls suggest that up to seven parties could enter parliament, including the leftist Plefsi Eleftherias, founded by former Syriza lawmaker Zoe Konstantopoulou, and a newly set up far-right party called Spartans." |first=Renee |last=Maltezou |editor=Frances Kerry}} "nominally left",[https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1212107/konstantopoulou-aims-to-double-her-partys-vote/ Konstantopoulou aims to double her party's vote] Kathimerini, e-Kathimerini 28 May 2023, Retrieved 16 May 2023[https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/06/26/btqv-j26.html Ruling New Democracy wins Greek elections, far-right make gains, pseudo-left Syriza routed] World Socialist Web Site 26 June 2023, Retrieved 27 June 2023{{cite news |title=Party leaders agree on a second poll |publisher=Kathimerini |agency=e-Kathimerini |issue=25 May 2023 |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1211808/party-leaders-agree-on-a-second-poll/ |access-date=28 June 2023}} or far-left,{{cite news |title=With Resounding Win in Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis Tightens Grip on Power |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/25/world/europe/greece-election-kyriakos-mitsotakis.html |access-date=16 June 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=25 June 2023}}{{cite web |title=Greece: Parties at a glance |url=https://politpro.eu/en/greece/parties |access-date=23 May 2023 |website=PolitPro}}{{cite news |date=26 June 2023 |title=Greek prime minister earns resounding electoral win, as far right makes gains |work=Edition CNN |publisher=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/25/europe/kyriakos-mitsotakis-elections-victory-intl/index.html |access-date=27 June 2023}}[https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/1214126/the-true-message-from-the-ballot-box/ The true message from the ballot box] Kathimerini, e-Kathimerini 27 June 2023, Retrieved 29 June 2023{{cite news |title=The underground of new parties in the European Parliament |url=https://www.eunews.it/en/2024/06/10/pro-life-pro-russian-populists-and-nazi-sympathisers-european-parliaments-new-parties-underground/ |access-date=16 June 2024 |work=EUnews |date=10 June 2024}} although Konstantopoulou describes it as anti-establishment and "neither left nor right" instead. The party's political position has also been considered to be "catch-all", accruing support from both left-wing and right-wing voters, including a component from the far-right, owing to its generalized anti-establishment positions.[https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/1211440/aims-and-expectations-in-todays-election/ Aims and expectations in Sunday's election] Kathimerini, e-Kathimerini 21 May 2023, Retrieved 21 June 2023 Course of Freedom is considered to be a sovereignist party and appeals to nationalist sentiments, and has been labelled as "nationalist left"[https://neoskosmos.com/en/2023/06/18/news/greece/what-to-know-as-greece-votes-again-in-legislative-polls/ What To Know As Greece Votes Again In Legislative Polls] Neos Kosmos 17 June 2023, Retrieved 27 June 2023[https://www.barrons.com/amp/news/new-greek-parliament-ca353582 New Greek Parliament] Barron's 26 June 2023, Retrieved 27 June 2023[https://taz-de.translate.goog/Neuwahlen-in-Griechenland/!5936725;moby/?_&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp New elections in Greece: How owls carry to Athens] Die Tageszeitung (taz.de) 24 May 2023, Retrieved 1 July 2023 or left-wing nationalist.{{Cite news |date=22 May 2023 |title=Parliamentary elections in Greece: Mitsotakis outclasses the left |agency=Die Tageszeitung (taz.de) |url=https://taz-de.translate.goog/Parlamentswahl-in-Griechenland/!5935819;moby/?_&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp |access-date=28 June 2023}}{{cite web |title=Greek Election: No good News for migrants and refugees |url=https://lens.civicus.org/greek-election-no-good-news-for-migrants-and-refugees/ |website=Lens.Civicus.org |publisher=CIVICUS |access-date=7 September 2023}}[https://taz-de.translate.goog/Wahl-in-Griechenland/!5942886;moby/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp Mitsotakis before his second term] 26 June 2023 Die Tageszeitung (taz.de) , Retrieved 8 September 2023
Course of Freedom's political position has also been evaluated as solely anti-establishment[https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/06/26/conservative-new-democracy-wins-majority-in-greek-parliamentary-elections-far-right-makes-gains/ Conservative New Democracy wins majority in Greek parliamentary elections, far-right makes gains] The People's Dispatch 26 June 2023, Retrieved 26 June 2023{{cite news |title=Poll gives New Democracy 15.1-point lead over SYRIZA |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1240818/poll-gives-new-democracy-15-1-point-over-syriza/ |access-date=16 June 2024 |work=E-Kathimerini |publisher=Kathimerini |date=6 June 2024}}{{cite news |title=Greek Conservatives win big in parliamentary elections |url=https://brusselssignal.eu/2023/06/greek-conservatives-win-big-in-parliamentary-elections/ |access-date=16 June 2024 |work=Brussels Signal |date=26 June 2023}}[https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1213877/poll-gives-new-democracy-21-5-point-lead-over-syriza/ Poll gives New Democracy 21.5-point lead over SYRIZA] Kathimerini, e-Kathimerini 23/06/20230, Retrieved 26 June 2023[https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1213128/new-poll-puts-nd-20-3-points-ahead-of-syriza/] Kathimerini, e-Kathimerini 13/06/20230, Retrieved 27 June 2023 or simply populist "anti-systemic",[https://agendapublica.elpais.com/noticia/18682/populist-right-finds-fertile-ground-greece Populist Right Finds Fertile Ground in Greece] Agenda Pūblica 26 June 2023, Retrieved 27 June 2023 considered difficult to be firmly placed on the political spectrum or transcending it due to its anti-corruption message.{{cite web |last1=Eleftheriou |first1=Eleftheriou |title=The Crisis in Syriza and the Prospects for the Radical Left in Greece |url=https://transform-network.net/blog/analysis/the-crisis-in-syriza-and-the-prospects-for-the-radical-left-in-greece/ |website={{ill|Transform! europe|de}} |access-date=6 April 2025}} It is considered to be a radical formation,{{Cite web |date=26 June 2023 |title=New Democracy Victory Reinforces Political Continuity in Greece |url=https://www.fitchsolutions.com/country-risk/new-democracy-victory-reinforces-political-continuity-greece-26-06-2023?amp |access-date=8 September 2023 |website=FitchSolutions.com |publisher=BMI Research}}[https://politicstoday.org/greece-elections-left-fell-right-rose-to-power/ Why the Left Fell and the Right Rose in Greece], Politics Today, 31 July 2023, Retrieved 15 September 2023 espousing a virulent rejection of all politicians while still embracing legalism and institutionalism.
Konstantopoulou has criticized privatizations, taxation increases, "media oligarchs", and auctioning off and bank seizures of homes of overindebted families and electronic auctions. The party has also come in support of refugees, the LGBT community, opponents to COVID-19 vaccination, and of victims of sexism and sexual violence.
Course of Freedom is a hard Eurosceptic party, with Konstantopoulou calling the European Union a "monstrous creation" lacking in democracy that is "not a union to belong to";[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48229537 European elections 2019: Love and hate in EU after economic rescues] BBC 13 May 2019, Retrieved 21 June 2023{{Cite web |last=Kordas |first=George |date=10 July 2023 |title=What the 2023 elections told us about anti-establishment politics in Greece |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2023/07/10/what-the-2023-elections-told-us-about-anti-establishment-politics-in-greece/ |website=EUROPP – European Politics and Policy Blog |publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science}} the party's founding declaration denounces "Eurobureaucracy" as totalitarianism.[https://www-plefsieleftherias-gr.translate.goog/idrytiki-diakiryxi/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp Ιδρυτική Διακήρυξη Πλεύσης Ελευθερίας] The Founding Declaration of Course of Freedom The party also believes the Euro is "against the people", with Konstantopoulou calling it a "tool of enslavement and oppression".{{cite news |title=Openly questioning the Euro and the EU |url=https://www.efsyn.gr/politiki/antipoliteysi/96767_amfisbitei-anoihta-eyro-kai-tin-ee |access-date=15 February 2025 |agency=The Newspaper of the Editors (I Efimerida ton Syntakton) |date=January 18, 2017}}{{cite web |title=Zoe Konstantopoulou: They are setting up a new collusion through a conflict in mafia terms |url=https://www-cnn-gr.translate.goog/politiki/story/39654/zoi-konstantopoyloy-stinoyn-nea-diaploki-mesa-apo-mia-sygkroysi-me-oroys-mafias?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp |website=CNN.gr |publisher=CNN |access-date=15 February 2025 |date=July 17, 2016}}{{cite news |title=Konstantopoulou: Let's free ourselves from the euro and the EU. |url=https://thepressproject-gr.translate.goog/konstantopoulou-na-apeleutherothoume-apo-to-euro-kai-tin-ee/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp |access-date=15 February 2025 |agency={{interlanguage link|ThePressProject|el}} |date=January 18, 2018}}
Konstantopoulou and the party have also launched a "Don't Pay" movement and a campaign of "general disobedience" towards debts, taxes and insurance contributions since 2017.{{cite news |title='I don't pay' movement by Zoe Konstantopoulou |url=https://www-parapolitika-gr.translate.goog/politiki/article/246267/kinima-den-plirono-apo-tin-zoi-konstantopoulou/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp |access-date=30 December 2023 |publisher={{ill|Parapolitika|el|Παραπολιτικά}} |date=7 February 2017}}
= Positions =
The party's positions include the cancellation of the country's national debt (that Zoe Konstantopoulou has previously during her time in government affirmed as "illegal, illegitimate, odious",[https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-33179593 Greek debt 'illegal, illegitimate and odious'] BBC, BBC News 18 June 2015, Retrieved 24 June 2023 "unsustainable"{{cite news |title=Zoe Konstantopoulou: "The greek debt is illegal and should not be paid" |url=https://www.euronews.com/2015/10/23/zoe-konstantopoulou-the-greek-debt-is-illegal-and-should-not-be-paid |access-date=27 April 2024 |work=Euronews |date=23 October 2015}} and "unconstitutional"{{cite news |title=Why Greece's Syriza party is not sticking to the script on an IMF deal |url=https://www.channel4.com/news/by/paul-mason/blogs/greeces-syriza-party-sticking-script-imf-deal |access-date=27 April 2024 |work=Channel 4 |publisher=Channel Four Television Corporation |date=21 May 2015}} based on the report of the Hellenic Parliament's Greek Debt Truth Commission[https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/en/Enimerosi/Grafeio-Typou/Deltia-Typou/?press=cb2bae76-752a-473b-a943-a4ba00d8da6a Hellenic Parliament's Debt Truth Committee Preliminary Findings – Executive Summary of the report] Hellenic Parliament Press Office 17 June 2015, Retrieved 24 June 2023), opposition to the Prespa naming agreement on North Macedonia's name and calling for a referendum on it,[https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/01/30/mace-j30.html Greek parliament votes in support of Macedonia name change] : "Zoe Konstantopoulou, former parliamentary speaker for Syriza and now leader of the pseudo-left Course of Freedom (Plevsi Eleftherias), called in the newspaper Ta Nea for a referendum on the deal.", World Socialist Web Site 30 January 2019, Retrieved 30 June 2023 claiming German war reparations and loans of up to €350 billion, additional compensation for Nazi atrocities, expanding Greece's territorial waters to 10 km, and opposition to mandatory vaccination.{{cite news |title=Surprise performance for two minor parties |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1211564/surprise-performance-for-two-minor-parties/ |access-date=24 May 2023 |work=eKathimerini |publisher=Καθημερινή |date=22 May 2023}}
The party's program includes confiscation of property of bankers and politicians who will be deemed responsible for the country's inclusion in the Memoranda, and also shutting down all media accused of "propaganda and entanglement" and doing away with the riot control known as MAT, replacing the last two with citizen collaboration/participation alternatives.{{cite news |title=Konstantopoulou: I will close all the media and confiscate the assets of those who put us in the Memoranda |url=https://www-protothema-gr.translate.goog/politics/article/726155/zoi-konstadopoulou-tha-kleiso-ola-ta-mme-tha-katasheso-tis-periousies-oson-mas-evalan-sta-mnimonia/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp |access-date=28 March 2024 |work=Proto Thema |date=28 October 2017}}{{cite news |title=Konstantopoulou proposed citizen participation in public order bodies |url=https://www-parapolitika-gr.translate.goog/politiki/article/284420/simmetochi-politon-sta-organa-dimosias-taxis-protine-konstantopoulou/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp |access-date=28 March 2024 |work=Parapolitika |date=27 October 2017}}
Course of Freedom openly impugnes the Euro and the Eurozone, and is in favour of monetary sovereignty, with Konstantopoulou stating a clear "no" to the Euro; Course of Freedom wants currency to function as a "tool of freedom" irrespective of whether its form will be electronic, digital or drachma. It is also in favour of alternative currencies and alternative means of payment and transactions.
Its founding declaration supports positions of popular democracy and participatory democracy, and includes proposals like the institutionalization of mandatory referendums, citizen participation in the justice system, renationalization of all public enterprises and public assets, the dissolution of the HRADF S.A, and an accountancy audit of Greek debt, insurance funds and state-owned institutions.
Course of Freedom has supported and voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage.{{cite web |title=Parliament: Broad consensus on same-sex marriage bill – Which parties say "yes" and which "no" |url=https://www-skai-gr.translate.goog/news/politics/vouli-eyreia-synainesi-sto-nomosxedio-gia-ton-gamo-ton-omofylon?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp |publisher=SKAI |access-date=11 February 2024}} It has also supported criminalizing femicide as a separate crime with special characteristics, and has proposed the creation of an official body to record femicides.{{cite news |title=Z. Konstantopoulou: Calls for the criminalization of femicide as a separate crime with special characteristics |url=https://www-naftemporiki-gr.translate.goog/society/1631521/z-konstantopoyloy-zita-tin-poinikopoiisi-tis-gynaikoktonias-os-aytoteloys-egklimatos-me-idiaitera-charaktiristika/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=el&_x_tr_pto=wapp |access-date=16 February 2025 |agency=Naftemporiki |date=April 3, 2024}}{{cite news |title=Course of Freedom demands the creation of an official body to record femicide cases |url=https://www.ethnos.gr/politikoparaskhnio/article/343112/hpleysheleytheriasdiekdikeithdhmioyrgiaepishmoyforeakatagrafhstongynaikoktonion |access-date=16 February 2025 |agency=Ethnos |date=25 November 2024}}
The party is pro-Palestinian and supports Palestinian statehood, wanting the Greek government to start internationally recognizing Palestine.{{cite news |title=Greek opposition parties push government to recognize Palestine |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/foreign-policy/1239487/greek-opposition-parties-push-government-to-recognize-palestine/ |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=E-Kathimerini |publisher=Kathimerini |date=23 May 2024}}
Composition
= Participating partners =
Τhe following members are nationally affiliated by running in elections using Course of Freedom's ballot:
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
!style="width:300px" colspan=2 |Party !style="width:200px" |Ideology
!Position |
| bgcolor= #FF4500 |
|{{nowrap begin}}I Don't Pay Movement (party){{nowrap end}} |Activism |
Election results
= Hellenic Parliament =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; line-height:16px;" |
| rowspan="2" style="width:65px;"| Election
! colspan="5"| Hellenic Parliament ! rowspan="2" style="width:30px;"| Rank ! rowspan="2" style="width:125px;"| Government ! rowspan="2"| Leader |
|---|
| style="width:75px;"| Votes
! style="width:45px;"| % ! style="width:45px;"| ±pp ! style="width:100px;"| Seats won ! style="width:40px;"| +/− |
| 2019
| 82,673 | 1.5% | New | {{Infobox political party/seats|0|300|hex={{party color|Course of Freedom}}}} | New | 8th | {{no|Extra-parliamentary}} | rowspan=3|Zoe Konstantopoulou |
| May 2023
| 170,298 | 2.9% | +1.4 | {{Infobox political party/seats|0|300|hex={{party color|Course of Freedom}}}} | {{steady}} 0 | 7th | {{no|Extra-parliamentary}} |
| Jun 2023
| 165,210 | 3.2% | +0.3 | {{Infobox political party/seats|8|300|hex={{party color|Course of Freedom}}}} | {{increase}} 8 | 8th | {{no2|Opposition}} |
= European Parliament =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:100%; line-height:16px;" |
| colspan="9"|European Parliament |
|---|
| width="60" | Election
! width="75" | Votes ! width="45" | % ! width="45" | ±pp ! width="100" | Seats won ! width="30" | +/− ! width="30" | Rank ! Leader ! EP Group |
| 2019
| 81,269 | 1.61% | New | {{Composition bar|0|21|hex={{party color|Course of Freedom}}}} | New | 8th | rowspan=2|Zoe Konstantopoulou | − |
| 2024
| 135,310 | 3.40% | +1.79 | {{Composition bar|1|21|hex={{party color|Course of Freedom}}}} | {{increase}} 1 | 7th | NI |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website}} {{In lang|el}}
{{Portal bar|Politics|Greece}}
{{Greek political parties}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:2016 establishments in Greece
Category:Euroscepticism in Greece
Category:Left-wing politics in Greece