Iosif Botetzagias

The Federation of Ecologists Alternatives: the First Greek Green Party (1989-1992) Iosif Botetzagias

In winter 1990, the Federation of Ecologists Alternatives, the first ever Greek green party, found itself in Parliament, just two months after its establishment. It then seemed that the Greek political ecology was finally coming of age, yet after just two years the party collapsed, marking a decade-long eclipse of green politics in Greece. This book presents and discusses the emergence of political ecology in Greece, the formation of the Green party, its electoral and parliamentary record, the internal tensions and external shocks it experienced as well as the reasons leading to the final collapse of the Greek greens. The book is based on extensive archival research and a large number of interviews with key activists of the period. Thus it should be especially useful to students of green parties and politics or anyone else who may be interested in the emergence and early development of the Greek green movement.