The Democratic Patriotic Popular Movement "Niki" (), often shortened to simply Niki (Victory), is a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

political party in Greece. It was founded by

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

Dimitris Natsios in 2019. In the parliamentary elections of June 2023, the party received a percentage of 3.70%, electing 10 deputies to the Hellenic Parliament in which today, it forms the 7th Parliamentary Group. Its main programmatic positions are defined as, "Faith, Fatherland, Family", the radical restructuring of education in Greek schools, changing Greek nationality law in regards to immigrants and refugees and the adoption of measures to solve the demographic problem, such as supporting large families and the traditional family. The party is supportive of the

Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...

and has been described as "ultra-religious".

History

The party was founded by the public education teacher and theologian Dimitris Natsios on 17 June 2019 in Thessaloniki, after the signing of the Prespa Agreement and one month before the 2019 parliamentary elections, in which he did not participate. He emerged in the polls shortly before the May 2023 elections. In that election, the first in which it participated, it garnered 2.92% of the vote and remained out of Parliament. In the June elections, it achieved 3.7% and secured 10 seats. He gathered the largest percentages in Northern Greece and specifically in Macedonia. In the European elections of June 2024 it gathered a percentage of 4.42% and elected an MEP, Nikos Anadiotis, to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. In November 2024, the first congress of Niki was held in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, where the updated party statute was approved, and the party’s governing bodies were elected. In 2025, during the election process for the President of the Hellenic Republic, Niki nominated Kostas Kyriakou, a Northern Epirote political prisoner under the Hoxha regime, as well as a lawyer and writer. He ranked fourth.

Ideology and positions

Niki is often described as ultraconservative and ultra-Orthodox with

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

fatherland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic nation ...

and

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

as the main axes, however, the party president denies the left-right political arc, stating that they do not identify with the right, the left or the centre. According to its statute, the party aims “to unite all

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

who are inspired by

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

and Orthodox sentiment for the defense of the ideals of

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

and

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

.” Other self-referential positions include the defense of territorial integrity and national sovereignty, the restructuring of

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, the support of the traditional family to address the demographic problem, and the promotion of

referendums A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...

on critical issues. Additionally, the party does not accept former

politicians A politician is a person who participates in policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles or duties tha ...

as members, calling for those accused of mismanaging

public funds Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual o ...

and increasing national debt to be held accountable in court, with the goal of abolishing “party rule” and ensuring the independent functioning of the Executive,

Legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

, and

Judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

branches. The party often refers to characteristics of the Greek nation which it promotes such as

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

, while it places special emphasis on

, criticizing certain content of school books and prejudicing the writing of new ones. It opposes

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...

in schools and abortion. The party is against LGBT

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...

and

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

. It states its opposition to mandatory medical procedures, such as the vaccination during Covid-19 and questions the safety of these vaccines. The party has endorsed vaccine hesitant views during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foreign policy

In matters of foreign policy, the party completely rejects the Prespa Agreement. It maintains a neutral attitude towards third countries, believing that the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

imperial heritage, the Orthodox unifying character, can feed an international focus of stability and balance in the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. It disagrees with Greece's support for Ukraine regarding Russia's invasion, instead preferring neutrality. The party has been referred to as "pro-Russia". Regarding Greece's relations with Turkey the party takes a hardline approach to their disputes. During the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, the party has called for peace between the two sides and for the Greek government to advocate for the protection of Orthodox Christians affected by the conflict.

Party structure

The party is managed by two bodies. According to the statute, the main body is the Vouleftirion (Βουλευτήριον), a seven-member group that ensures the party runs smoothly in line with its statutory principles. Members of the Vouleftirion are independent of other organs, do not officially represent the party, cannot stand as candidates in any elections, and are unpaid. It is often seen as a conclave of a select few who are unaccountable to anyone, as the identities of the Vouleftirion members are unknown, unlike the Omaikhmia, whose members are known. This lack of transparency was highlighted during the June 2023 elections when the Vouleftirion replaced candidates chosen by voters in the May elections with others of its own choosing. The second body is the Omaikhmia or Homaichmía (Ομαιχμία or ὁμοαιχμία), a 28-member group that publicly represents the party's views and positions. The President of the party acts as the spokesperson for the Omaikhmia. Members are vetted for their integrity, honesty, patriotism, and religiosity before being appointed.

Election results

Hellenic Parliament

European Parliament

Parliamentary Groups

Hellenic Parliament

20th Parliamentary Period

After the June 2023 Greek legislative election, Niki elected 10 Members of the Parliament. The Parliamentary Group consists of the following MPs: * State MP: Athanasios Rakovalis * Athens B1: Aspasia Kouroupaki * Athens B2: Andreas Voryllas * Athens B3: Nikos Vrettos * East Attica: Tassos Iconomopoulos *

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...

: Spyros Tsironis * Thessaloniki A: Dimitris Natsios * Thessaloniki B: Nikos Papadopoulos * Larissa (constituency): Giorgos Rountas * Pieria (constituency): Komninos Delveroudis

European Parliament

10th European Parliament

After the European Elections 2024, Niki elected one MEP. * Nikos Anadiotis

Notes

''Omaichmia'' is an ancient Greek word means union for battle, defensive alliance, league. senate

References

External links

* {{Greek nationalism 2019 establishments in Greece Anti-abortion organizations in Europe Anti-gender movement Anti-immigration politics in Europe Christian fundamentalist organizations in Europe Christian nationalism in Europe Conservative parties in Greece Eastern Orthodoxy and far-right politics Far-right political parties in Greece National conservative parties Nationalist parties in Greece Opposition to same-sex marriage in Europe Opposition to sex education in Europe Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Greece Paleoconservative organizations Political parties established in 2019 Russophilic parties in Greece Vaccine hesitancy