SOCIALIST party EDEK is mulling over the idea of abandoning the red rose as its emblem and bringing back its old badge, the clenched fist.
The image rebrand is part of broader changes in the pipeline. On November 9 the party holds a congress to vote on amendments to its charter, including extending the maximum number of terms for the chairman.
The “clenched fist” (also known as the “raised” or “closed” fist) is a symbol and salute most often used by communists, anarchists, socialists, leftists, pacifists, trade unionists and others in the left. Generally the fist is used as an expression of solidarity or defiance.
So does the return of the fist mark a switch to the more radical?
“The reasoning behind the idea was that, since the party resumed its old name (EDEK), we should also bring back the old emblem, for practical reasons mostly,” said Antonis Koutalianos, secretary of the Central Committee.
He said the proposal passed by a marginal vote at a Central Committee session this week. However, to be endorsed it still needs a two-thirds majority vote at the November 9 congress.
“So it’s far from a done deal,” said Koutalianos.
The party has been toying with a lot of things, changing its name to KISOS after a poor showing in the 2001 parliamentary elections, then back to EDEK.
But not everyone is thrilled with ditching the red rose for the fist.
“Personally, I think it’s stupid. It’s like we’re going back to the past,” said one party source.
On a separate issue, the same source confirmed reports the party was employing the services of PR guru Costas Panagopoulos, who was on the team of Tassos Papadopoulos in February’s presidential elections. It’s said Panagopoulos has been brought in to shake things up ahead of the euro elections next year. EDEK has set the ambitious goal of winning a seat in the European Parliament.
“Yes, we’ve agreed a long-term collaboration with him,” the source said.
A history of the fist
THE CLENCHED fist is part of the broader genre of “hand” symbols that include the peace “V”, the forward-thrust-fist, and the clasped hands. It usually appears in full frontal display showing all fingers and is occasionally integrated with other images such as a peace symbol or tool.
The human hand has been used in art from the very beginnings, starting with examples in Neolithic cave paintings. Early examples of the fist in graphic art can be found at least as far back as 1917, with another example from Mexico in 1948. Fist images, in some form, were used in numerous political graphic genres, including the French and Soviet revolutions, the United States Communist Party, and the Black Panther Party for Self-defense.
However, these all followed an iconographic convention. The fist was always part of something – holding a tool or other symbol, part of an arm or human figure, or shown in action (smashing, etc.). But graphic artists from the New Left changed that in 1968, with an entirely new treatment. This “new” fist stood out with its stark simplicity, coupled with a popularly understood meaning of rebellion and militance.
Different movements sometimes use different terms to describe the raised fist salute: amongst communists and socialists it is sometimes called the red salute, whereas amongst black rights activists, especially in the United States of America it has been called the black power salute. During the Spanish Civil War, it was sometimes known as the anti-fascist salute.
