Ikaria: The “red” island of Greece, a KKE stronghold

By Nikos Mottas.

Ikaria, or Icaria, is a relatively small island in the Aegean Sea, approximately 20 km southwest of Samos. According to Greek mythology, its name derives from Icarus, son of Daedalus, who fell in the sea because he “flew too close to the sun”.

Apart from its rich history, beautiful villages, friendly people and notorious summer feasts, Ikaria is also known as Greece's “red island”. The results of the recent parliamentary elections of May 21, 2023, came to confirm the tradition, according to which Ikaria is a stronghold of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). 

Greece: Five communist mayors go to second round of local elections on June 2

From left: Peletidis (Patras), Stamelos (Kesariani), Selekos (Haidari), 
Simos (Petroupoli), Lardas (Ikaria).

The five communist (backed by the KKE) mayors are going to the second round of municipal elections in Greece, after the results of May 26th. 

The five mayors, heads of the "People's Rally" (Laiki Sispirosi) lists, will have the opportunity to re-claim their mayorship in the local elections run-off next Sunday 2 July. More specifically:

In Patras, mayor Kostas Peletidis received 40.59% of the votes (approximately 39,500 votes). 

In Kesariani, the heroic district of Athens, mayor Ilias Stamelos received 29.87% (app. 3,525 votes).