THE GREEK RIGHT:
STRUCTURE AND IDEOLOGY OF THE NEW DEMOCRACY PARTY
by
EMMANUEL G. ALEXAKIS
Thesis subm itted fo r the Degree of Ph.D. in the U n iv ersity of London
The London School of Economics & P o litic a l Science
UMI Number: U062732
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
F i r s t and forem ost, I would lik e to thank my su p e rv iso r, Prof. Nicos M ouzelis, whose help and a s s is ta n c e throughout t h i s study has been enormous, c o n stru c tiv e and s u b s ta n tia l. I would a ls o lik e to thank Dr. Chris Husbands fo r h is help in the form ulation of the q u e stio n n a ire and a ls o h is suggestions and general advice concerning the b e st conduct of th e field w o rk r e s e a r c h . In a d d itio n , I would l ik e to thank V a s s il i s K ap etan y ian n is who p ro v id ed me w ith numerous Greek and fo reig n p ress p u b lic a tio n s co n tain in g v a lu a b le in fo rm a tio n co n cern in g th e ND p a r ty ; I l i a s K a ts o u lis , C h ris to s L y r in t z i s , and Andreas Moschonas, who read p a rts of the m anuscript and made u sefu l comments and sug g estio n s; and M ichalis A lexakis, fo r h is e s s e n tia l h elp w ith field w o rk -research d ata processing and computer a s s is ta n c e .
ABSTRACT
The main is s u e s on which th e p r e s e n t stu d y i s focused a re th e fo u n d a tio n o f th e New Democracy p a r t y (ND) in 1974; i t s p o l i t i c a l p erso n n el, lead ersh ip , o rg a n is a tio n , ideology, e le c to r a l s tra te g y and o v e ra ll performance from 1974 u n til 1990 a t both th e n a tio n a l and the lo ca l le v e l; as well as the e x te n t to which ND resembled and/or d iffe re d from the tr a d itio n a l p r a c tic e s of i t s p red ecesso r, the N ational Radical Union (ERE).
The a n a ly s is and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f ND n o t on ly com prises new e m p iric a l in fo rm a tio n o b ta in e d from o u r r e s e a r c h in Greece, but a ls o tak es in to account the s p e c if ic c h a r a c te r is tic s and n atu re of the p o s t- 1974 s o c io - p o litic a l system w ith in which a l l the p o l i t i c a l p a r tie s have o p erated . Moreover, comparisons between ND and ERE go beyond the p a rty l e v e l. In o rd e r to o b ta in r a t h e r more com prehensive and s a tis f a c to r y ex p lan atio n s concerning th e n a tu re and exact p o l i t i c a l id e n tity of ND (and, seco n d arily , of ERE), we expanded our a n a ly tic a l scope to include th e broader s o c io - p o litic a l c h a r a c te r is tic s of th e two systems w ith in which ERE and ND were c re a te d , functioned and in te r r e la te d . In o th er words, in our attem pt to an aly se ND, we used not only the explanatory v a r i a b le s o f th e p a r t y 's h i s t o r i c a l background, p o l i t i c a l personnel, o rg a n isa tio n , lead ersh ip and ideology, but a ls o th e s p e c if ic fe a tu re s of the p o l i t i c a l systems w ith in which ND and i t s predecessor ERE were s e t up, as w ell as th e e x te n t to which both p a r t i e s were influenced by and themselves a ffe c te d and shaped the broader s o c io - p o litic a l environment.
LIST OF CONTENTS
Page
GENERAL INTRODUCTION... 17
CHAPTER ONE: SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: THE GREEK RIGHT FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO THE 1967 DICTATORSHIP... 24
1. In tro d u c tio n ... 24
2. The Post-War S itu a tio n ... 30
2.1 The regime l e v e l ... 30
2 .1 .1 The economy... 30
2 .1 .2 The p o l i t y ... 37
2.2 The p a rty l e v e l... 47
2 .2 .1 R eco n stitu tio n of th e co n serv ativ e camp: the Greek R ally p a r ty ... 47
—2 .2 .2 The N ational Radical Union (ERE)... 50
2 .2 .2 . (a) The p a r t y 's p o l i t i c a l p e rso n n el... 52
2 .2 .2 . (b) S tru c tu re and a d m in is tra tio n ... 55
( i) C entral p a rty a d m in is tra tio n ... 55
( i i ) O rganisational s tr u c tu r e ... 58
— 2 .2 .2 . (c) The p a rty le a d e r... 61
— 2 .2 .3 Ideology and prograirme... 65
—'2 . 2 . 4 S trateg y and t a c t i c s ... 68
(a ). In government... 68
( b ) . In o p p o sitio n ... 70
2 .2 .5 E le c to ra l perform ance... 71
2 .2 .6 An o v e ra ll c r itiq u e of the N ational Radical Union (ERE)... 79
3. Developments in the 1960s... 83
3.1 The r i s e and f a l l of th e Centre Union... 83
3.2 The "a p o st a t e s" governments and the im position of the c o lo n e ls' m ilita r y d ic ta to r s h ip ... 88
P age
CHAPTER TWO; THE RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY AND PARLIAMENTARISM: RECONSTITUTION OF THE CONSERVATIVE CAMP AND
THE CREATION OF THE NEW DEMOCRACY PARTY... 95
1. In tro d u c tio n ... 95
2. The R e sto ratio n of Democracy... 97
2.1 The tr a n s itio n period: form ation of a n a tio n a l-u n ity government and f i r s t ste p s towards democrat i s a t io n ... 97
2.2 The p erio d o f c o n so lid atio n : Parliam entary e le c tio n s , the referendum on the monarchy, and th e form ation of th e June 1975 c o n s titu tio n ... 103
^_3. The R e co n stitu tio n of the C onservative Canp: The C reation of the New Democracy P a rty ... I l l 4. C onclusion... 115
CHAPTER THREE: POLITICAL PERSONNEL... 117
1. I n t roduc t i on... 117
2. P arliam entary Group... 118
2.1 P o l i t ic a l background... 118
2.2 Occupational background... 131
3. C entral and Departmental O cnm ittees... 138
4. P o litic a l Personnel and In te rn a l D iv isio n s... 149
4.1 Absense of d is tin c tiv e p o l i t i c a l c u r r e n ts ... 149
4.2 C lie n te lism ... 152
4.3 Factions and tendencies w ith in New Democracy... 155
5. C onclusion... 164
CHAPTER FOUR: ORGANISATION AND LEADERSHIP ... 169
1. In tro d u c tio n ... 169
—2. Karam anlis' Post-1974 P e rso n a lity and His C ontribution to the C reation of ND's O rg an isatio n ... 171
3. The P arty O rg an isatio n ... 177
Page
3.3 S ta tu to ry changes in 1986... 192
,______________ 4. The P arty L eadership... 209
^_5. C onclusion... 220
CHAPTER FIVE: IDEOLOGY, PROGRAMME AND STRATEGY... 224
^ ^ 1 . In tro d u c tio n ... 224
— 2. Karam anlis' C o n trib u tio n to th e E lab o ratio n of the P a r ty 's Ideology... 226
2.1 Radical lib e ra lism : T h eo retical fo u n d atio n ... 226
2.2 Radical lib e ra lis m ap p lied : ND's programme and s tra te g y 1974-1981... 236
2 .2 .1 Economic p o lic y ... 236
2 .2 .2 Foreign p o lic y ... 241
— 3. ND in O pposition (1981-1989): Seeking fo r An Id eo lo g ical I d e n t i t y ... 246
3.1 The 1985 m anifesto "A new proposal fo r freedom", and the s h i f t towards neo- lib e r a l ism... 246
3.2 The 1986 congress and ND's temporary id eo lo g ical r e t r e a t 256 4. Ideology and Members' A ttitu d e s ... 263
■—-5. From Opposition Back in to O ffic e ... 272
5.1 The Greek case of h i s t o r ic a l compromise... 272
— 5.2 ND's 1990-1993 governmental record: A te n ta tiv e assessm en t.. 276
6. Conclusion... 279
CHAPTHER SIX: NEW DEMOCRACY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF LARISSA... 284
1. In tro d u c tio n ... 284
2. ND's P o litic a l Personnel and the C reation and Development of the O rganisation in the Department of L a r is s a ... 292
3. The Local P arty O rganisation in L a riss a and K alo h o ri... 297
3.1 P arty members' socioeconomic and p o l i t i c a l p a r t i c u l a r s ... 297
3.2 P arty members' a p p ra isa l of t h e i r lo cal o rg a n is a tio n ... 304
Pa g e
4. The N ational E le ctio n s of 18 June 1989... 324
5. C onclusion... 333
CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUDING REMARKS: THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE GREEK RIGHT... 337
1. In tro d u c tio n ... 337
— 2. C o n tin u itie s and Change in Greek C onservative P o l i t i c s ... 338
2 .1 . The p a rty le v e l: Fran ERE to ND... 338
2 .2 . The s o c io - p o litic a l le v e l: Fran pre-coup re p re ssiv e parliam entarism to th e post-1974 open dem ocratic regim e 350 3. General co n clu sio n ... 362
FOOTNOTES...,... 369
APPENDICES I . Proclam ation of Prime M in ister C onstantine Karamanlis on the Foundation o f th e P o l i t ic a l Front o f "New Democracy".. 462
I I . (a) ND’s ballot/em blem in 1977... 467
(b) ND's emblem a f t e r th e 1st Congress... 468
(c) ND's u n o ffic ia l emblem in the 1985 e le c tio n ... 469
I I I . ND membership frcm 1974 u n til e a rly 1992... 470
IV. ND's Id eo lo g ical P rin c ip le s - 1979 : Speech of C. K arananlis a t the f i r s t ND N ational Congress (A shortened v e r s i o n ) ... 473
V. C onstantine M itso ta k is' New Proposal fo r Freedom, 3 February 1985... 479
VI. ND's Id eo lo g ical P rin c ip le s - 1986... 487
V II. ND's E le cto ral Performance... 491
V III. P arty Members' Q u estio n n aire, Views and A ttitu d e s in the Dept of L a rissa (C ity of L arissa and v illa g e of K a lo h o ri)... 492
IX. Maps... 508
Map 1: P o litic a l Regions and Departments (Nones) of Modem Greece. (Source: Social and Economic A tla s , Athens: N ational Centre of Social Research, 1965).. 509
Map 2: Region of T hessaly, i t s Departments and t h e ir C a p ita ls ... 510
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
A ll follow ing Tables and Figures re p re se n t d a ta r e s u ltin g from my own research , u n less otherw ise s ta te d .
Page CHAPTER ONE
Table 1 .1 : Greek R ally P arliam entary Group: 9 September 1951
N ational E le c tio n ... 49 Table 1 .2 : ERE Candidates fo r the 19 February 1956
E le c tio n ... 53 Table 1.3: ERE MPs a f t e r th e 19 February 1956
National E le c tio n ... 54 Table 1.4: 19 February 1956 P arliam entary E le ctio n [Sources*.
R e g iste r o f Senators (1929-1935) and MPs (1935-1974), Athens: Greek Parliam ent P u b lic a tio n , 1977
(in Greek), p. 9 3 .] ... 72 Table 1.4a: Ccnparison Between C iv ilia n & Army/Civil S ervice Votes
[Sources: For Athens and P iraeu s see L inardatos S ., From the C iv il War to th e D ic ta to rs h ip , Athens: P a p a z iss is, 1977, fiv e v o ls , v o l. I l l , p. 78; fo r the country as a whole see Nikolakopoulos E ., P a rtie s and P arliam entary E le ctio n s in Greece: 1946-1964, Athens: N ational Centre fo r Social
Research, 1985. p. 471, (both in G re e k ).]... 73 Table 1.5: 11 May 1958 P arliam entary E le ctio n [Sources:
Same as fo r Table 1 .4 , p. 9 4 .] ... 74 Table 1.6: 29 October 1961 Parliam entary E lectio n [Sources:
Same as fo r Table 1 .4 , p. 9 6 .] ... 76 Table 1.7: 3 November 1963 Parliam entary E le ctio n [Sources:
Same as fo r Table 1 .4 , p. 9 7 .] ... 77 Table 1.8: 16 February 1964 P arliam entary E le ctio n [Sources:
Same as fo r Table 1 .4 , p. 9 8 .] ... 78 Table 1.9: The N ational Radical Union’s (ERE) E le c to ra l
Performance [Sources: Same as fo r
Table 1 .4 , pp. 9 3 - 8 .] ... 81
CHAPTER TWO
Table I I . 1: 17 November 1974 Parliam entary E le ctio n [Sources: 17 November 1974 P arliam entary E lectio n s R e s u lts , M inistry of th e I n t e r i o r , General D irectio n of A dm inistration, D irectio n of E le c tio n s,
Section of E le c tio n s, Athens 1976, (in Greek),
Page
Table I I . 2: R esu lts o f the 8 December 1974 Referendum on the Monarchy [Sources: M acridis R. C ., "E lections and P o litic a l M odernization in Greece", in Penniman H. R. (e d ), Greece a t th e P o lls: The N ational E le ctio n s of 1974 and 1977, Washington and London: American E n te rp rise I n s t i t u t e fo r Public P o licy Research,
1981, p. 1 5 .] ... 107
CHAPTER THREE
Table I I I . l : ND C andidates' P o l i t ic a l Background
fo r the 17 November 1974 E le c tio n ... 119 Table I I I . l a : ND C andidates' P o l i t ic a l background
fo r th e 17 November 1974 E le ctio n
( r e la tiv e newcomers)... 399 Table I I I . 2: ERE-1956 and ND-1974 C andidates'
P o litic a l Background... 120 Table I I I . 3: ND MPs' P o l i t ic a l Background a f t e r the
17 November 1974 E le c tio n ... 121 Table I I I .3 a : A Comparison between ND C andidates and MPs
in th e 1974 E le c tio n ... 400 Table I I I . 4: Renewal in New Democracy and EK/ND in 1974
and PASOK in 1977... 122 Table I I I . 5: Age Composition of the ND, EK/ND and PASOK
Parliam entary Groups... 123 Table I I I . 6: ND MPs' P o l i t ic a l A f f i l ia ti o n a f t e r
a l l N ational E lectio n s sin c e 1974... 124 Table I I I . 7: Renewal/Consolidation w ith in ND
from 1977 u n til 1990... 125 Table I I I . 8: Age Composition of the ND P arliam entary Group
a f t e r a l l E le c tio n s ... 127 Table I I I . 9: ND Euro-MPs' P o litic a l Background
a f t e r a l l Euro-Elect io n s ... 128 Table I I I . 10: 17 November 1974, 20 November 1977 and
18 October 1981 E le c to ra l R esu lts
[Sources: fo r 1974, see 17 November 1974 E lectio n R e s u lts , M in istry of the I n te r io r , Dept of E le c tio n s, Athens 1976, pp. 14-5 and 577-604; fo r 1977 see 20 November 1977 E lectio n R e s u lts , v o l. 1, M in istry of the I n te r io r , Dept of E le c tio n s, Athens 1979, pp. 16-7 and 19-55; and fo r 1981 see 18 October 1981 E lectio n R e s u lts , v o l. 1,
Page
Table I I I . 11: ND-1974, EK/ND-1974, and PASOK-1977 MPs'
Occupational Background... 133 Table I I I . 12: New Democracy MPs1 O ccupational Background a f t e r
a l l E le ctio n s (and PASOK MPs' in 1981 and 1 9 9 0 )... 135-6 Table I I I . 13*. ND Euro-MPs' O ccupational Background
a f t e r a l l E uro-E lect io n s ... 137 Table I I I . 14: ND C entral-C orm ittee Members' P o litic a l
Background in 1986... 139 Table I I I . 15: ND C entral-C cnm ittee Members' P o litic a l
Background in 1991... 140 Table I I I . 16: Occupational Background o f ND and PASOK
C entral C onm ittees... 142 Table I I I . 17: Occupational Background o f 158 P arty Members
in L a rissa in 1989... 144 Table I I I . 18: ND Women in Parliam ent
(PASOK d a ta in p a re n th e s e s )... 145 Table I I I . 19: Women in th e European Parliam ent, C entral and
Departmental C a rm itte es... 146 Table I I I . 20: Urban, Semi-urban and Rural Vote fo r ND in the
1977, 1981, 1985, 1989A and 1989B N ational E lectio n (PASOK d a ta in p aren th eses)
[Sources: E p ik e n tra , no. 1, Mar.-Apr. 1978, pp. 12-21; no. 22, Sep.-O ct. 1981, pp. 4—72; no. 44, May-Jun. 1985, pp. 4-71; no. 58,
undated, pp. 5-59; no. 60, Dec. 1989, pp. 6-63; and no. 62, June 1990, pp. 11-90; a l l sp e cia l
e le c tio n issu e s (and in G re e k ).]... 147 Table I I I . 21: ND V o ters' Socio-economic O rigins in the 1977,
1981 and 1985 N ational and the 1984 Euro-E lection (PASOK d a ta in p aren th eses)
[Sources: Same as fo r Table I I I . 2 0 .] ... 148 Table I I I . 22: In flu en c e/S tren g th of P o l i t ic a l C urrents
w ith in ND (1989)... 150 Table I I I . 23: ND's R ank-and-File Members' P erception
of t h e ir P a rty (1989)... 151
CHAPTER POUR
Figure 4.1: Diagram of ND S tru c tu re According
to the 1979 S ta tu te s ... 180 Table IV. 1: Development of ND's G rass-ro o ts O rg a n isatio n ... 188 Table IV .2: L arissa ND Members: Year of R e g iste rin g
Page
Figure 4.11: Diagram of th e ND S tru c tu re According
to th e 1986 S ta tu te s ... 194 Table IV .3: ND Members’ Views Regarding the
P arty C andidates' Nomination... 199 Figure 4.111: New Democracy's O rg an isatio n al Scheme... 201 Table TV. 4: Most Important Problems Faced by TOs
in th e Department of L a r is s a ... 206 Table IV .5: ND’s G reatest Achievements w hile in Government 211 Table IV .6: ND's G reatest Achievements w hile in O pposition 217 Table IV .7: I s th e re a d iffe re n c e between th e ND Leadership
and th a t of o th e r p a r t i e s ? ... 218
CHAPTER FIVE
Table V .l: Number of Persons Employed by th e Public Sector 1974-1981 [Sources: Data compiled from Kolmer C ., "The Greek economy a t a c ru c ia l tu rn in g -p o in t:
P o l i t ic a l r e a l i t y v ersu s s o c ia l a s p ir a tio n s " , in The New L iberalism : The Future of Non-
C o lle c tiv is t I n s titu tio n s in Europe and the U .S ., Athens: Centre fo r P o l i t ic a l Research and Informa
tio n , In te rn a tio n a l Symposium, May 1981, p. 298, and from Georgiou A. P ., "Fourteen —not seven— years of so cialism in Greece", in P o l i t ik i E popteia,
no. 138, October 1988 (in Greek), p. 2 0 .] ... 238 Table V.2: ND's Id eo lo g ical Id e n tity : Views of th e P arty
Members in th e Department of L a rissa in 1989... 267 Table V.3: Most Im portant F acto rs In p e llin g ND Members to Jo in
th e P arty in the Department of L a ris s a ... 268 Table V.3a: ND’s Id eo lo g ical I d e n tity : Views of the 94 P arty
Members who rep u ted ly jo in ed ND because of
"personal id eo lo g ical i d e n t i f i c a t i o n " ... 268 Table V.4: Most Im portant Reasons fo r ND's Appeal
to th e E le c to r a te ... 269 Table V.5: P arty Members' Acquaintance w ith the
1985 Id eo lo g ical D e c la ra tio n ... 270 Table V.6: Degree of D issem ination/E xplanation of ND's
P o l i t ic a l Programme... 270 Table V.7: C lass R epresentation and ND:
P a rty Merribers' A ttitu d e s ... 271 Table V.8: 18 June 1989 Parliam entary E le ctio n [Sources:
Page
CHAPTER SIX
Table VI. 1: Occupational Background: A Ccnparison Between the Country as a Whole and th e Department of L arissa
[Sources: The d a ta fo r th e country as a whole a re from 1986 Labour Force Census, A thens: Nat i ona 1 Service of S t a t i s t i c s of Greece, 1987; the d a ta fo r the Department o f L a rissa a re from 5 A pril 1981 Census R esu lts: Population and Households, Athens: N ational Service of S t a t i s t i c s o f Greece, 1990
(both in Greek), v o l. V, no. 7: T h e s s a ly .]... 286
Table V I.2: A llo catio n of P arliam entary S eats in the Department of L a riss a d u rin g a l l N ational E le ctio n s a f t e r the C reation of ERE... 289
Table V I.3: Post-1974 E lectio n R esu lts in th e C ity of L a rissa , K alohori, Department of L a ris s a , and Greece [Sources: For th e 1974, 1977, 1981 and 1985 n a tio n al e le c tio n , see th e o f f i c i a l p u b lic a tio n s of th e M inistry of th e I n t e r i o r , Dept of E le c tio n s, Athens 1976, 1979, 1984 and 1986 re s p e c tiv e ly ( a ll in G reek); fo r the June and November 1989 and fo r th e 1990 e le c tio n , the d a ta have not so f a r been p ublished, but were given to th e au th o r u n o f f ic ia lly , by th e Dept of E le c t i o n s .] ... 291
Table V I.4: ND O rganisation in L a rissa and Kalohori in 1989: Local C ornuttees and t h e i r Membership... 296
Table VI.4a: ND O rganisation in L a rissa and Kalohori in 1989: Number of Q uestionnaires D is trib u te d and R etu rn ed .. 449
Table V I.5: Men and Women in the ND O rg an isatio n in L a rissa and K alohori... 297
Table V I.6: Age D istrib u tio n of ND Members in L a rissa and K alo h o ri... 298
Table V I.7: Occupational Background of ND Members in L arissa and K alohori... 299
Figure 6.1: D is trib u tio n of S a la rie d and L ib eral P ro fessio n s acro ss ND Ranks... 300
Table V I.8: Year of R eg isterin g ND Membership... 302
Table V I.9: Previous P arty P o litic a l P a r tic ip a tio n ... 302
Table VI. 10: P a rtic ip a tio n in N o n -P o litical O rg a n isa tio n s... 303
Table VI. 11: Major Reasons fo r Jo in in g th e ND P a rty ... 304
Table VI. 12: P arty Members' Attendance a t O rganisation M eetings... 305
Page
Table VI. 14: C urrent Major Problems o f th e Local O rg a n is a tio n ... 308 Table V I.15: General A ttitu d e Towards the
Local ND O rg a n isatio n ... 309 Table VI. 15a: Major E xpectations of th e R ank-and-file
P arty Members... 310 Table VI. 16: ND Members' A ttitu d e s Towards
th e P arty L eadership... 311 Table VI. 17: Most In p o rtan t Reasons fo r ND's Appeal
to the E le c to r a te ... 312 Table V I.18: Maintenance of C l i e n t e l i s t i c R elatio n s Under
ND Governments (1974-1981)... 313 Table VI. 18a: Age and Party-Age D is trib u tio n of Members
in L a rissa and Kalohori (who gave no answer concerning th e e x iste n c e of
c l i e n t e l i s t i c r e l a t i o n s ) ... 452 Table VI. 19: Maintenance o f C l i e n t e l i s t i c R elatio n s Under
PASOK Governments (1981-1989)... 315 Table V I.20: ND Members' Views Concerning the A b o litio n of the
P reference Cross (by PASOK in 1985)... 316 Table V I.21: ND Members' A ttitu d e s Towards C andidates’
Nomination Procedure... 318 Table V I.22: P arty Members’ F a m ilia rity w ith ND's Ideology 320 Table V I.23: P arty Members' Views of ND's Id eo lo g ical I d e n t i ty .. 320 Table V I.24: P arty Member's Opinions Concerning ND and
C lass R ep rese n tatio n ... 322 Table V I.25: P arty Members' Personal E xpectations In Case
LIST OF ACRONYMS ADEDY ASEA CDS CDU DAKE DAP/NDFK DE DIANA EA EAK EAM EAR EAS EDA EDE EDIK EGE EK EK/ND
A notati D io ik issi Enosseon Dimossion Y p allilo n
(Supreme A dm inistration of the Unions of C iv il Servants) Anotato Symvoulio E th n ik is Amynis
(Supreme Conmittee of N ational Defence) Centro Democratico e Social
(Social and Democratic C entre, Portugal) C hristlich-D em ocratische Union Deutschlands
(C h ristia n Democratic Union of Genrany) Dimokratiki A n e x a rtiti K in issi Ergazomenon
(Democratic Independent Movement of Workers) Dimokratiki Ananeotiki P ro to p o ria /
Nea Dimokratiki F o i t i t i k i K in issi (Democratic Renewing Vanguard/
New Democratic Movement of Students) Dimokratiki Enossis
(Democratic Union) Dim ocratiki Ananeossi
(Democratic Renewal) Encmeni A ris te ra
(United L eft)
Ethniko Agrotiko Karma (National Rural Party)
Ethniko A p elefth ero tik o Metopo (National L ib eratio n Front) E llin ik i A ris te ra
(Greek L eft)
E p ih e iris s i Astikon Syngoinonion (Corporation of C iv il Transport) E niaia Dimokratiki A ris te ra
(United Democratic L eft) E thniki Dim okratiki Enossis
(National Democratic Union) Enossis Dimokratikou Kendrou
(Union of the Democratic Centre) Enossi Gynaikon E lladas
(Women’s Union of Greece) Enossis Kendrou
(Centre Union)
Enossis Kendrou/Nees Dynameis (Centre Union/New Forces)
EKOF
ELAS ELK
E thniki Koinoniki O rganossis F o itito n (National Social O rganisation of Students) Ethnikos Laikos A p e lefth ero tik o s S tra to s
(National P e o p le 's L ib e ra tio n Army) Enossis Laikon Kormaton
(Union of P eoples' P a rtie s ) EON
EP
EPEK
ERE
E thniki O rganossis Neon (N ational Youth O rganisation) E thniki P a ra ta x is
(National Canp)
E thniki P ro o d e ftik i Enossis Kendrou (National P ro g ressiv e Centre Union) E thniki R iz o sp a stik i Enossis
(National R adical Union)
EREN E thniki R izo sp astik i Enossis Neon (N ational Radical Union o f Youth) ERK E llin ik o R izospastiko Kinima
(Greek Radical Movement) ESK
GSEE
E llin ik o S o s ia lis tik o Kcnma (Greek S o c ia lis t Party)
Geniki Syncmospondia Ergaton E lladas (General C onfederetion of Greek Labour) IDEA Ie ro s Desmos E llin o n Axicmatikon
(Sacred Bond of Greek O ffic e rs) KKE Kormounistiko Konma E lladas
(Cannunist P arty of Greece)
KKE (e s .) Kormounistiko Komra E lladas (eso terik o u ) (Cannunist P arty of Greece (of th e in te r io r ) ) KODISO Karma Dimokratikou Sosialism ou
(Party of Democratic Socialism )
KP Karma Proodeftikon
(Party of P ro g ressiv e People)
KPEE Kendro P o l i t i k i s Erevnis ke Epimorfosseos (Centre fo r P o l i t ic a l Research and Inform ation) KPO
KYP
Kanonismos P e r if e r e ia k is Qrganosseos (P erip h eral O rganisation R egulation) K entriki Y p iresia P liro fo rio n
(Central I n te llig e n c e Agency)
ND Nea Dimokratia
NO NODE NOE NQMEKE NOPS ONNED PADE PAME PASEGES PASOK POLAN RPF RPR SEN SEV SYN TE TEA TO UCD UDR
Nomarchiaki Organossi (Departmental O rganisation) Ncmarchiaki D ioikoussa E^pitropi
(Departmental A d m in istrativ e Committee) Nbmarchiaki Oikonomiki E ^ itro p i
(Departmental F in an cial Conmittee) Nomarchiaki E k te le s tik i E ^ itro p i
(Departmental Executive C arm ittee) Ncmarchiako P eith arh ik o Symvoulio (Departmental D isc ip lin a ry Council) Organossi Neon Neas Dimokratias
(New Democracy Youth O rganisation)
P ro o d e ftik i A grotiki Dimokratiki Enossis (P rogressive Rural Democratic Union) Pandimokratiko Agrotiko Metopo E llados
(Pandemocratic Rural Front o f Greece) P a n e llin ia Syncmospondia Enosseon Georgikon Synetairism on
(P anhellenic C onfederation o f Unions of A g ric u ltu ra l C ooperatives)
P a n e llin io S o s ia lis tik o Kinima (Panhellenic S o c ia lis t Movement) P o l i t ik i Anoixi
( P o litic a l Spring)
Rassemblement du Peuple F ran cais (R ally of th e French People) Rassemblement pour la R£publ ique R ally fo r th e R epublic, France) Soma Elpidoforon Neon
(Hopeful Youth Corps)
Syndesmos E ll inikon Vicmihanion (A ssociation of Greek In d u s trie s )
Synaspismos t i s A ris te ra s ke t i s Proodou (C o alitio n of the L eft and Progress) Topiki E£>itropi
(Local Conmittee)
Tagmata E th n ik is Amynis
(National Defence B a tta llio n s ) Topiki Organossi
(Local O rganisation)
Uni6n del Centro Democratico (Democratic Centre Union, Spain)
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
The com plete ab sen ce o f a d e t a i l e d and c o m p re h e n siv e a n a l y s i s c o n ce rn in g th e r e c o n s t i t u t i o n o f th e rig h t- w in g p o l i t i c a l f o rc e s in Greece sin ce the re s to ra tio n of democracy in 1974, and th e form ation and o v e ra ll performance of the co n serv a tiv e New Democracy (ND) p a rty s e t up a t th a t tim e, was the major m otiv atio n /f o r th e p resen t study. Such an a n a ly s is has been overdue fo r seme tim e, given th e fa c t th a t i t was the ND p a rty , under the lead ersh ip of i t s founder C. Karam anlis, th a t p o lle d an unprecedented 54.37 per cen t o f th e popular v o te in 1974, and took the lead in not only re p re se n tin g th e c o n serv ativ e p o l i t i c a l fo rc e s, but a ls o in c a rry in g out the d i f f i c u l t ta sk o f changing to and c o n so lid a tin g what must be acknowledged a s th e most open, c o m p e titiv e , and f u l l y dem ocratic regime the country has ever experienced.
A lth o u g h s e v e r a l a r t i c l e s h av e b een p u b lis h e d co n ce rn in g ND's c h a r a c te r is tic fe a tu re s and p o l i t i c a l id e n tity , they were not th e r e s u l t o f s c i e n t i f i c a l l y i m p a r ti a l e n q u i r e s . On th e c o n t r a r y , th e y w ere b l a t e n t l y b ia s e d e i t h e r f o r o r a g a in s t ND, and o p en ly se rv ed p a r t y - p o l i t i c a l propaganda p u rp o se s. Most o f them d e a l t alm o st e x c lu s iv e ly w ith th e q u e s tio n of w hether ND was indeed a t o t a l l y new p o l i t i c a l form ation, as claimed by th e p a rty i t s e l f , o r a sim ple regrouping of the same p o l i t i c a l fo rces th a t had been rep resen ted by the N ational Radical Union (ERE) d u rin g most o f th e p re -c o u p p e rio d , a s a s s e r te d by i t s p o l i t i c a l o p p o n en ts.( 1’
depending on the personal p o l i t i c a l stan ce of each "analyst" v is - a - v is th e p a rty and i t s founder, th e re s p e c tiv e views ranged frcm complete accordance w ith ND claim s —th a t th e p a rty was not only a t o ta l ly new p o l i t i c a l form ation, e n tir e ly d is s o c ia te d frcm p a st p o l i t i c a l p ra c tic e s , but a ls o a n a tio n al p a rty , which was alone in serv in g so le ly the tru e i n t e r e s t s o f th e p eo p le and so sto o d q u i t e o u ts id e th e "m islead in g , a r b i t r a r y and ab su rd R ig h t-C e n tre -L e ft c l a s s i f i c a t i o n " — to in te n s e p o lem ics, a s s e r t i n g t h a t i t was n o th in g b u t th e o ld ERE under a new name. In th e end, i t was th e l a t t e r view th a t came to predom inate, p a r tly because ND, having f a ile d to e la b o ra te a concrete and coherent ideology of i t s own, lo s t power to th e o p p o sitio n , which then stepped up i t s a tta c k on ND as a mere co n tin u atio n o f ERE and den ig rated i t fo r not o n ly i t s own p a s t re c o rd but j u s t a s much f o r t h a t o f th e ERE. As a r e s u l t , issu es concerning p a r tic u la r p a rty c h a r a c te r is tic s , e sp e c ia lly th e system atic establishm ent and the fu n ctio n in g of ND’s o rg an isatio n and the b e la te d e la b o ra tio n o f i t s id eo lo g ical p r in c ip le s , were almost
t o ta l ly ig n o re d .<2)
All in a l l , then, in the post-1974 p o l i t i c a l d isc o u rse, ND received no more a tte n tio n than th e above ill-docum ented, narrow and s im p lis tic polem ic, c o n fin e d to th e is s u e o f w hether th e p a r ty had o r had not d e p a rte d from p a s t p r a c t i c e s , and w hether o r n o t i t had d is s o c ia te d i t s e l f from i t s p red e ce sso r’s p o l i t i c s . I f i t i s a ls o taken in to account th a t in the e a rly years a f t e r 1974 i t was a n ti- d ic ta to r s h ip , an ti-R ig h t and r a d ic a l l i b e r a l and l e f t i s t a t t i t u d e s and id e a s th a t emerged and became dom inant, i t w ill be more r e a d i l y u n d ersto o d th a t ND as "th e bearer of re a ctio n ary and a u th o r ita r ia n rig h t-w in g p o l it i c a l tra d itio n " was condemned and dism issed a lto g e th e r . ( 31
ideology, i t s e f f e c tiv e ly m ilita n t mass o rg a n is a tio n , i t s in tro d u c tio n of an unprecedented number of newcomers to p o l i t i c s and i t s outstan d in g e l e c t o r a l perfo rm an ce, a s w ell a s th e c h a ris m a tic p e rs o n a lity of i t s lead er have r e s u lte d in numerous s tu d ie s of PASOK i t s e l f , i t s r e la tio n to pre-coup p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s , the e x te n t to which is a d ep artu re frcm p a st p o l i t i c a l p r a c tic e s and, sin ce 1981 when i t came to power, in how f a r i t has managed to enforce i t s p ro je c te d p o lic ie s and what kind of o v e ra ll governmental reco rd i t can show.( 4 * In th e meantime, although ND had a lre ad y begun i t s b e la te d and slow p rocess towards th e e la b o ratio n of a cen tre-R ig h t (and l a t e r neo -co n serv ativ e) ideology and th e c re a tio n and developm ent o f a g r a s s - r o o t s o r g a n is a tio n , v e ry l i t t l e i f any a t t e n t i o n was p a id to th e p a r t y , which c o n tin u e d to be c o n sid e re d a co n tin u atio n of ERE and as such was h e a v ily stig m a tise d by th e l a t t e r 's pre-coup a u th o r ita r ia n and re p re ss iv e legacy.
s p e c if ic c h a r a c te r is tic s o f th e post-1949 dominant p o l i t i c a l system and a llo w com parisons w ith ERE to se e in how f a r ND c o n tin u e d a n d /o r d iv e rte d frcm th e p o l i t i c a l p ra c tic e s o f i t s p red ecesso r. I t w ill a lso show t h a t , a lth o u g h w ith in th e open and d e m o c ratic p o l i t i c a l system a f t e r 1974 ND c o n s titu te d a reformed and more moderate re p re s e n ta tiv e of th e co n serv ativ e p o l i t i c a l fo rc e s, i t s f u l l tran sfo rm atio n in to a modem p a rty of the Western European kind remained incom plete, given th a t i t h a s f a i l e d to a r t i c u l a t e a c o h e r e n t and d i s t i n c t i v e i d e o l o g i c a l id e n tity , and d id not c re a te an e f f e c tiv e mass o rg a n is a tio n th a t could f re e the p a rty from having to r e ly on i t s tr a d itio n a l p e r s o n a lis tic and c l i e n t e l i s t p r a c tic e s .
The resea rch fo r t h i s work was conducted in two se p ara te phases. I t began a t p a r ty h e a d q u a rte rs in A thens in O ctober 1987, and u n t i l September 1988 c o n siste d m ainly of a study of th e p a r t y 's p u b lic a tio n s sin c e the year of i t s foundation, and of v ario u s o th e r documents on ND's i d e o l o g i c a l p r i n c i p l e s and g r a s s - r o o t s o r g a n i s a t i o n . (W ith few e x c e p tio n s , most o f th e documents I ask ed f o r were g iv en to me). As th e r e were no d a ta c o n c e rn in g ND's p re d e c e s s o r (ERE), prom inent ND members were interview ed who had been e le c te d as ERE members in the p re coup p e rio d , and who continued t h e ir p o l i t i c a l c a re e rs in the ND ranks fo r some time a f t e r 1974. ND d ep u ties who f i r s t came to p o l i t i c s in 1974 were a ls o interview ed, as well as leading members of ONNED, ND's youth o r g a n is a tio n .( 5’
more comprehensive and o b je c tiv e im p re ssio n c o n ce rn in g ND's s p e c i f i c fe a tu re s . The fieldw ork resea rch c o n siste d of interview s w ith lo cal MPs, h ig h e r p a r t y m em bers, and v a r i o u s p ro m in e n t ND s y m p a th is e r s and s u p p o r t e r s , a s w e ll a s o f i n te r v ie w s b a se d on a p r e - s t r u c t u r e d q u estio n n a ire to be answered by o rd in ary p a rty members.t6)
A 5 per cent sim ple random sample from th e p a rty membership in the c it y of L arissa was se le c te d , p lu s a l l of the p a rty members in the small v illa g e of K alohori. Although i t had i n i t i a l l y been agreed to conduct th e s e in te rv ie w s f a c e - t o - f a c e , in th e end t h i s proved impossible? in L a r i s s a and K a lo h o ri i t was ND's lo c a l- c o m m itte e p r e s i d e n t s who themselves d is tr ib u te d the q u e stio n n a ire s to th e p a rty members, and not a l l o f them were r e tu r n e d a fte r w a r d s . In th e m eantim e, I managed to interview 18 p a rty members p e rso n a lly (out of th e 63 o r ig in a lly s e le c te d frcm the local conm ittee of th e c i t y c e n tre ); as e le c tio n day (18 June 1989) was coming c lo s e r , th e lo cal p a rty headquarters d id not allow me to complete my re se a rc h , on th e grounds th a t p a rty members should be l e f t to c a r r y o u t p a r t y - p o l i t i c a l propaganda work, and to do t h e i r utmost to help ND resume o f f ic e .
p a rty , and in th e end provided a much more comprehensive p ic tu re of i t s n a tu re and p a r tic u la r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . ( 7 }
The p resen t study i s d iv id ed in to seven c h ap ters. Chapter 1 p re se n ts a d e t a i l e d a c c o u n t o f th e h i s t o r i c a l c o n te x t w ith in w hich ND's p r e d e c e s s o r , ERE, was c r e a t e d and a l s o i t s g e n e r a l p e rfo rm a n c e . Moreover, th e s p e c if ic fe a tu re s of what came to be c a lle d "rep re ssiv e p a rlia m e n ta rism " a r e a n a ly se d —n o t o n ly in o rd e r to u n d e rsta n d th e h i s t o r ic ro o ts of ND, but a ls o to o b ta in a more complete p ic tu re of both th e s o c ia l and p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t y a t th e tim e, and to d e term in e th e in te r r e la tio n and s p e c if ic linkages between the dominant s o c io - p o litic a l system and th e p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s in g e n eral.
Chapter 2 d e a ls e x c lu siv e ly w ith th e c re a tio n of ND in 1974 r ig h t a f t e r the c o lla p s e of th e m ilita r y d ic ta to r s h ip , and the establishm ent o f th e p o s t - j u n t a open d e m o c ra tic re g im e . More s p e c i f i c a l l y , th e a n a ly sis focuses on th e sp e c ia l circum stances p re v a ilin g a t th e time ND was founded, as w ell as on th e tr a n s itio n a l process th a t u ltim a te ly led to the c o n so lid a tio n o f democracy in th e country as a whole, a process th a t —a t le a s t in the beggining— was c a r r ie d out and supervised by ND, and p a r tic u la r ly by i t s founder and f i r s t lea d er, C. Karamanlis.
ND's p a r t i c u l a r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s c o n ce rn in g p o l i t i c a l p e rs o n n e l, o r g a n i s a t i o n and id e o lo g y a r e a n a ly s e d in c h a p t e r s 3, 4 and 5 re s p e c tiv e ly . The a n a ly sis covers a six te e n -y e a r p erio d (1974-1990), and a l l changes in the p a rty lead ersh ip and ideology, as well as the major developments concerning ND's o r g a n is a tio n a l expansion and i t s o v e r a ll performance, a re taken in to account.
the June 1989elections, which brought PASOK's f a l l frcm power and ND's r e t u r n to o f f i c e a f t e r e ig h t y e a rs in o p p o s itio n . C h ap ters 3 to 6
in c lu siv e use inform ation obtained from our rese a rc h in Greece, to g eth er w ith d ata drawn frcm the Greek and fo re ig n p re s s .
CHAPTER ONE: SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: THE GREEK RIGHT FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO THE 1967 DICTATORSHIP
1. In tro d u ctio n
A. A fte r th e end o f th e c i v i l war (which was fo u g h t, i n t e r m i t t e n t l y from 1944 u n t i l 1949), G reece e n te r e d a p e rio d of r a p id economic development and r e l a t i v e p o l i t i c a l s t a b i l i t y , which ended w ith th e C olonels' coup on 21 A pril 1967. In t h is ch ap ter we sh a ll tr y to give an o v e ra ll account of the major s o c ia l, p o l i t i c a l and economic fe a tu re s of th a t p erio d ; t h is w ill f a c i l i t a t e a b e t t e r understanding of the p o st- d i c t a t o r i a l fo rm atio n (1974 onwards) o f th e new d em o cratic regim e. F i r s t , however, i t w ill be u s e f u l , to ta k e a b r i e f look a t c e r t a i n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s th a t had developed in G re e c e 's p o l i t i c s and economy sin ce the country acquired i t s independence (1832), in order to have a f u l l e r p ic tu re of th e socio-economic and p o l i t i c a l background.
consequences fo r the Greek so c ia l s t r u c t u r e . 12> But, on th e o th e r, i t acted as an "imported p r o l e t a r i a t " 1 3} th a t a c c e le ra te d the processes of u r b a n is a tio n and i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n a lr e a d y shaped in th e 1880-1922 tr a n s itio n p e r io d .14> I t should seem, th en , th a t from 1922 onwards the country en tered a new phase of development in which the c a p i t a l i s t mode of production can be sa id to have become dominant. What is inarguable is th a t the Greek c a p i t a l i s t model did not develop according to the West European one but followed a ro u te of i t s own, o fte n c h a ra c te rise d as "uneven d ev elo p m en t" and c o m p ris in g f e a t u r e s o f p r e - c a p i t a l i s t underdevelopment. We s h a ll re tu rn to the exam ination of th ese fe a tu re s, and to the reasons fo r t h e i r emergence, l a t e r in th is ch ap ter.
th e lead in c a rry in g out th e task of th e c o u n try 's in d u s tr ia lis a tio n , in stea d of play in g the m oderating a r b i t e r 's r o le as had been the case in th e West E uropean d e m o c r a c ie s . ( 8 * T h is c irc u m s ta n c e was o f g re a t importance fo r th e c o u n try 's o v e ra ll process of c a p i t a l i s t development, a process which d ev iated from the Western p a tte r n and comprised —and s t i l l does— fe a tu re s of underdevelopment. ( 9}
Greek p o l i t i c a l l i f e meanwhile was dominated fo r almost a century (1832-1922) by th e s o - c a l l e d Meqali I d e a , th e Dream o f a G re a te r H e l l a s . ‘ 1 0 } A lth o u g h th e c o u n tr y , a f t e r th e end o f th e War o f Independence, was econom ically ru in ed , p h y sic a lly d e so la te , and highly dependent on the fo reig n Great Powers, th e main everyday issu e was the r e - e s ta b lis h m e n t o f th e f i f t e e n t h - c e n t u r y H ellen o -B y zan tin e em pire. Greek i r red en t ism was om nipresent, as i f i t were the c o u n try 's one and only problem.
obvious what a m u ltitu d e o f s t r u c t u r a l d is c r e p a n c ie s and drawbacks h e a v ily influenced the c o u n try 's socio-economic and p o l i t i c a l processes and a re hig h ly answerable fo r th e course th a t was f i n a l ly adopted. The s o -c a lle d "uneven development" is to a g re a t e x te n t an outcome of these d isc re p a n c ie s.
The year 1910 was a tu rn in g p o in t in Greek h is to r y , both because i t sig n a lle d the r i s e of th e m iddle c l a s s e s / 17’ and w ith reg ard to the p o l i t i c a l p ro c e s s . The l a t t e r showed th e b eg in n in g o f some kin d of r a tio n a lis a tio n , due to th e reform s of E. V e n iz e lo s.( 18 * At the same tim e, patronage p o l i t i c s and c l i e n t e l i s t i c networks d id not disappear a lth o u g h , as new c la s s e s e n te re d th e p o l i t i c a l a re n a , th e tz a k ia f a m ilie s began to weaken w ith th e g e n e ra l b ro ad en in g of p o l i t i c a l p a rtic ip a tio n and in te g r a tio n .* 19’
I t i s a t t h i s tim e, namely in December 1911, when some prom inent p o l i t i c a l p e r s o n a l i t i e s * 20 * met a t G astouni in th e P eloponnese, and under th e lead ersh ip of D. Gounaris formed themselves in to a p o l i t i c a l team r a th e r than a p a rty . This p o l i t i c a l team, to g eth er w ith sane of the re p re s e n ta tiv e s of the o ld regim e,*21 ’ a cted as the main o p p o sitio n to V e n ize lo s. L a te r, in F eb ru ary 1915, when V e n iz e lo s ’ government had re sig n e d ,* 22’ and the King appointed D. Gounaris to the prem iership, the l a t t e r became th e r a l l y i n g p o in t f o r a good number o f MPs and p o l i t i c i a n s .* 23’ The r e s u lt was the form ation, under the lead ersh ip of G ounaris and th e "G a sto u n i m e e tin g " p o l i t i c i a n s , o f th e P a r ty o f N ationally-M inded P eo p le, which in O ctober 1920 changed i t s name to P eo p le's P arty.
G enerally speaking, the "Right"*24’ during t h is p erio d (1910-1922) h as been p r e s e n te d a s a g a th e r in g o f h id e -b o u n d and r e a c t i o n a r y o lig a rc h ic fo rce s, re fu sin g renewal and reform , opposing even changes
" .. . o p p o s i t i o n to V e n iz e lo s ' p o l i t i c a l message, a c tio n s , and even h is p e rs o n a lity as such, was the primary founding element of th e co n serv ativ e camp, in combination perhaps w ith a vague id eo lo g y o f p re s e r v in g th e s o c i o - p o l i t i c a l
s t a t u s q u o. Very so o n , th o u g h , V e n iz e lo s ' p o l i t i c a l
opponents sought fo r a carmon id e n tity under th e banner of th e crown, which h e r e a f te r operated as the u n ify in g force o f t h e i r camp, t h e i r e s s e n t i a l c a m p -le a d e r, and t h e i r a lte r n a tiv e to the V e n iz e list legend". ( 26}
This tr a n s itio n a l p erio d came to an end in 1922 w ith th e Asia Minor debacle, which d is c re d ite d th e i n s t it u t io n of the monarchy, sh a tte re d th e Meqali I d e a , and in tro d u c e d a new m ajor d iv id in g l in e w ith in p o l i t i c a l l i f e ; namely t h a t o f th e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l q u e s t i o n .( 27} The n atio n s p l i t in to two. The su p p o rters o f Venizelos and the republican id e a l r a l l i e d to V e n iz e lo s ' L ib e ra l P a r ty , and th o se who were a n t i - V e n iz e lists and su p p o rters of th e monarchy, chose the P eo p le's P arty of D. G o u n aris. The is s u e torm ented and harmed th e c o u n try u n t i l th e in p o sitio n of the Metaxas d ic ta to r s h ip in August 1936, and served again to d i s t r a c t the p e o p le 's a tte n tio n frcm aggravating so c ia l issu es and d i f f e r e n c e s ; i t d is c o u r a g e d h o r i z o n t a l o r g a n is a tio n and p re se rv e d patronage p o l i t i c s ; and i t u ltim a te ly d iv id ed the n atio n so deeply th a t, even a f t e r th e end o f th e c i v i l w ar, th e wounds s t i l l f e s t e r e d . The c o n s t i t u t i o n a l is s u e was th e c o u n tr y 's f i r s t s e r io u s s p l i t . I t s main outcome was the c re a tio n and p o la r is a tio n of two major groupings/canps w ith in Greek s o c ie ty : on one s id e were th e L ib e r a ls , who o p ted fo r m o d e r n is a tio n , re fo rm , d is e n ta n g le m e n t from th e p a s t , and f o r p a rlia m e n ta ry democracy w ith o u t a k in g but w ith a p r e s id e n t a s th e fig ure-head of s t a te ; and on th e o th e r was the P eo p le's P arty , which opted fo r the establishm ent of the monarchy and the p reserv a tio n of the
sta t u s quo. (Z8) in the end, a q u a s i - to t a l i ta r i a n * 2 9 * form of the l a t t e r
e x c lu s io n is t/in c o rp o ra tiv e inodes of p o l i t i c a l c o n tr o l,* 30 * ex ercised by a q u a s i - a u t h o r i t a r i a n , a l b e i t p a rlia m e n ta r y , r ig h t-w in g p o l i t i c a l regime.
B. To e x p la in how and why th e M etaxas d i c t a t o r s h i p came to be e s ta b lis h e d f a l l s o u tsid e the scope o f t h is s tu d y .*31 * We s h a ll r e s t r i c t o u rselv es to a b r ie f examination of th e developments in the p o l it i c a l process from a f t e r the d is s o lu tio n o f democracy in 1936 u n til the end of
the c i v i l war in la te 1949.
When G e n era l M etaxas im posed h i s d i c t a t o r s h i p , he su sp en d ed p o l i t i c a l freedoms and put the country under m ilita r y r u le . P o litic a l o rg a n isa tio n s were d is s o lv e d and th e p o l i t i c a l w orld, la r g e ly sta y e d a lo o f , d i s l i k i n g perh ap s what was happening, b u t not r e s i s t i n g i t dy nam ically.( 32 * Metaxas then co lo n ised the s t a t e bureaucracy w ith h is own fo llo w e rs , purged th e army o f i t s L ib e ra l elem en ts and s e t up c o r p o r a t e b o d i e s ( l i k e f o r e x a m p le EON, t h e N a t io n a l Y outh O rg a n iz a tio n ), th a t were imbued w ith n a t i o n a l i s t i c id e o lo g ie s, being organised lik e th e ir nazi and f a s c i s t c o u n te rp arts in Germany and I ta ly . As A. Papandreou observed,
" ...l a c k in g a massive so c ia l base of any kind, Metaxas was l e f t w ith o n ly one a l t e r n a t i v e : heavy r e l i a n c e on th e re p re ssiv e asp ects of fascism . In t h is he proved a m aster, and he l e f t a permanent i n p r in t on th e p u b lic l i f e of Greece. Metaxas was the f i r s t to introduce the concept of a modern t o t a l i t a r i a n s t a t e , c o m p le te w ith o f f i c i a l guidance of the p re s s , cen so rsh ip of a r t i s t i c c re a tio n and a conpulsory National Youth O rganisation of p a ra -m ilita ry c h a ra c te r" . ( 3 3}
regim e d id n o t im m ediately c o lla p s e . On th e c o n tr a r y , many o f h i s m in is te r s and c o lle a g u e s were c o ll a b o r a t in g w ith th e Germans who had occupied the country. The bulk of th e Greek p o p u latio n , meanwhile, was on th e s i d e o f EAM ( N a tio n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t ) , a c o m m u n ist-le d o rg a n isa tio n , th a t managed to take the lead in th e stru g g le a g ain st the c o u n try 's invaders.
W ith th e end o f World War I I , EAM was th e o n ly r e a l power in th e country, the N ational Government and th e King having been in e x ile in the Middle E ast. Due to v ario u s reasons and circum stances, which again cannot be a n aly se d h e r e , ( 35} EAM d id n o t s e iz e power but o p ted fo r c o lla b o ra tio n w ith the N ational Government under c e r ta in co n d itio n s to be agreed upon.136 * In ste a d , the country was re n t by c i v i l war, which ended in 1949 in favour of th e rig h t-w in g (and lib e r a l) fo rce s, a f t e r c o n s id e ra b le economic and m i l i t a r y a id from th e Am ericans, who had meanwhile u n d ertak en th e d u ty o f p r o t e c ti n g Greece (soon a f t e r th e p ro cla m a tio n o f th e Truman D o c trin e on 12 March 1947). I t sh o u ld be s tre s s e d h ere, however, th a t the c i v i l war put an in d e lib le stamp on the d iv is io n and p o la r is a tio n of Greek s o c ie ty ; o f f i c i a l l y i t ended in 1949, but in fa c t i t d id not do so u n til 1974,137 * and in some re sp e c ts i t s
impact can s t i l l be f e l t in Greek so c ie ty today.
2. The Post-War S itu a tio n
2.1 The regime level
2.1.1 The economy
and even u n t i l th e r e s t o r a t i o n of democracy in 1974: t h i s was th e se p ara tio n of Greeks in to " n a tio n a lly minded" o r ethnikofrones on the one hand, and on the o th e r in to "non-e th n ik o fro n e s" , who would e ith e r be a c tu a l comrtunists o r a t l e a s t f e l l o w - t r a v e l l e r s . Anti-communism, in o th e r words, became the banner of the Right and, in combination w ith o th e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f e a t u r e s o f th e p o s t c i v i l war G reek s o c i a l f o r m a t i o n / 38’ th e dominant id e o lo g ic a l s y s te m .( 39 * The R ig h t, a s mentioned above, was alread y c lo s e ly a sso c ia te d w ith th e monarchy, and h e r e a f t e r was to e s t a b l i s h a f irm and c l o s e r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith
"A tlanticism ", i . e . w ith th e USA and the NATO a l l i a n c e / 40’
The a n a ly sis of t h is p erio d w ill begin w ith an o u tlin e of the Greek economy. World War I I and th e c iv i l war had d ev astated th e c o u n t r y / 41’ and e s p e c ia lly the c i v i l war brought th e economic s itu a tio n to a new
low. I t was only in th e mid-1950s th a t Greek c a p ita lis m managed to get back to i t s pre-war le v e ls of o u tp u t, and th e r e a f te r th e economy began to grow a t a f a s t r a t e (6 p e r c e n t p e r y e a r on a v e r a g e ) / 42’ I f th e apparent p o l it i c a l s t a b i l i t y o f th e p o st-w a r y e a rs and u n t i l 1965 i s a ls o taken in to a c c o u n t, i t seems lo g ic a l to assume t h a t th e Greek economy would, a t some p o i n t, have managed to overcome i t s p re-w ar f e a t u r e s o f u n d erd ev elo p m en t and e n te r e d i n t o th e s ta g e o f f u l l c a p i t a l i s t development, of c a p ita lis m proper.
has g re a t tran sfo rm ativ e power and im portant m u ltip ly in g e f f e c ts on the r e s t of the economy. ‘ 4 5 ’ T hird, as K. Vergopoulos n o t e d , '46' a f t e r World War I I th e s t a t e became r e s p o n s ib le f o r th e c r e a tio n o f a n o th e r, p e rip h e ra l b o u rg eo isie, one th a t would ensure th e c o u n try 's in s e rtio n in to th e i n te r n a t i o n a l economy w ith o u t any o b s tr u c tio n s . As Spyros M a rk e sin is, th e "economic b ra in " o f rig h t- w in g economic p o lic y in general and of the 1953 s t a b i l i s a t i o n o f th e drachma, has sa id in one of h is speeches, " ...b e c a u s e i t fin d s i t s e l f between two so c ia l extremes, th e m iddle c l a s s alw ays a c t s a s a g u a rd ia n o f th e regim e. I t alw ays c o n s titu te s a p recious element of s t a b i l i t y and balance upholding the bourgeois reg im e".4 47 * Needless to say th a t the vanguard of th is newly formed b o u rg e o is ie c o n s is te d o f a m o tley a sso rtm e n t of p eo p le w ith dubious e t h i c a l backgrounds, and i t s v e ry c r e a tio n was, to a la rg e e x te n t, due to economic c o lla b o ra tio n w ith the Germans during th e four years of the c o u n try 's occupation. (For example, during th ese four years 6,500 p r iv a te e n te rp ris e s were c r e a te d ) . ‘ 48 *
le-comnodity p ro d u c tio n s e c t o r was n o t r e s t r i c t e d o r m o d ern ise d b u t continued to co ex ist sid e by sid e w ith th e in d u s tria l c a p i t a l i s t s e c to r, so g iv in g to th e l a t t e r an e n c la v e form. In a d d itio n , th e n , to th e in e q u a litie s between labour and c a p ita l th a t could normally be expected, came v a s t i n e q u a l i t i e s betw een th e te c h n o lo g ic a lly advanced and th e backward se c to rs of the economy. S u ffic e i t to mention here th a t, a t th a t tim e, one thousand fa m ilie s (0.5 p er cent of the population) earned more than h a lf of a l l p riv a te income.*51}
I t was o n ly in 1950 t h a t th e G reek economy a t t a i n e d i t s 1938 production le v e ls again. Two years l a t e r , Marshal Papagos inaugurated a perio d th a t was marked, f i r s t , by the p o l i t i c a l domination of the Right and, th e re fo re , by r e l a ti v e p o l i t i c a l s t a b i l i t y * 52 * la s tin g u n til 1963; and, second, by the achievement of a sp e c ta c u la r economic growth. During th e s e tw elve y e a rs —and e s p e c i a l l y d u rin g th e e ig h t y e a rs o f h i s s u c c e s s o r 's p re m ie rs h ip , from 1955 to 1963— th e s itu a tio n in Greece changed d ram a tic ally .
N e v e r th e le s s , t h i s econom ic g ro w th d id n o t manage to b o o st i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n p ro p e r. As A. N ik o la id is , th e e x -re p re s e n ta tiv e of Greece in the OECD, has argued:
" . . . i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n met w ith i n f i n i t e re a c tio n s , due to th e consequences which i t would p ro b ab ly cau se to th e export catmerce of the in te r e s te d c o u n trie s , and a ls o due to the economic autarchy which would be c re ate d in a few years fo r Greece. So, cortm ercial, economic and p o l i t i c a l
in te r e s ts d ic ta te d to th ese c o u n trie s [ i . e . , the c o u n trie s which were o f f e r i n g economic a id ] an u n p reten d ed enm ity towards the p lan s fo r G reece's i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n " / 56’
Furthermore, the p r iv a te s e c to r was h e s ita n t to in v est in i n d u s t r y / 57’ and when th e s t a t e f i n a l l y took on t h i s ta s k , m ainly th ro u g h p u b lic re v e n u e , i t d id so u n s y s t e m a t i c a l l y and w ith o u t any lo n g -te rm p e r s p e c t i v e . So f o r i n s t a n c e a g r i c u l t u r e , w hich was u n d o u b te d ly m o d e rn ise d /58’ remained the b ig g est p roductive se c to r of th e economy u n til 1960, when, and only then d id in d u s tr ia l output fo r th e f i r s t time exceed th a t of a g r i c u l t u r e / 59’
The above i s r e f l e c t e d in and c o rro b o ra te s th e s i t u a t i o n w ith resp ect to the c o u n try 's workforce. Greece a t th a t time experienced a d isp ro p o rtio n a te in crease of th e urban population due to b e tt e r working o p p o r tu n itie s in th e t e r t i a r y s e c to r (o r in sm all fam ily u n i ts in a r t i s a n a l e n t e r p r i s e s c o e x i s t i n g s i d e by s i d e w ith th e few b ig e n te rp ris e s ) and, secondly, co n sid erab le em igration abroad.
import tra d e , p aid 75 per cen t of d ir e c t and 65 per cent of in d ire c t tax e s, th e average personal income of i t s population was 40 per cent higher than n a tio n al average (which means th a t, d e sp ite economic growth and th e in crease in n a tio n a l p er c a p ita income, th e l a t t e r was unequally d is tr ib u te d ) , and i t housed the bulk of enployees engaged in the v ario u s p u b lic se rv ic e s* 61> —y et i t was not an in d u s tr ia l c ity . Less than a th ir d o f i t s r e g is te r e d a c tiv e po p u latio n was employed in in d u stry . Of th is one th ir d , h a lf were employed in small a r tis a n a l u n its of le s s than te n w o rk ers, which were u s u a lly sim p le fam ily b u s in e s s e s . Over two t h i r d s o f th e r e g i s t e r e d a c t i v e p o p u la tio n w ere a b so rb e d by th e o v e r i n f l a t e d t e r t i a r y s e c t o r , m o st u s u a l l y th r o u g h v e r t i c a l c l i e n t e l i s t i c netw orks.* 62’ I t has been estim ated th a t during the 1951- 1961 p e rio d , 600,000 people m igrated in te r n a lly , and th a t in the 1956- 1961 p e rio d , 220,000 people swarmed in to Athens;* 63 * 55 per cent of the l a t t e r were absorbed by th e t e r t i a r y s e c to r of th e economy.
As m e n tio n e d a l r e a d y , th e a g r i c u l t u r a l s e c t o r was th e b ig g e s t productive se c to r u n til 1960. D espite —or indeed ex ac tly because of — i t s lim ite d m odernisation, *64} i t was s t i l l plagued by low p ro d u c tiv ity , u n d e re m p lo y m e n t, low w a g e s , s m a ll la n d - o w n e r s h ip , s i n g l e - c r o p c u ltiv a tio n , lack of f e r t i l i z e r s , and e x p lo ita tio n of the c u ltiv a to r s by th e w h o l e s a l e r s , who u s u a l l y o f f e r e d v e r y low p r i c e s f o r t h e produce.*65} The government took c e r ta in ste p s to combat these problems (in v estm en ts in a g r i c u l t u r e acco u n ted f o r more than h a lf of p u b lic spending), but again haphazardly and w ithout a long-term p ersp ec tiv e . To quote M. S e r a f e t in i d i s : *661
i t s im p e rso n a l dynam ics in i t s fa v o u r" ( i n E n g lis h o r i g in a ll y ) .
The r e s u lt was a massive exodus to th e c i t i e s , to begin w ith, and the c re a tio n o f unemployment th a t ra p id ly gained momentum, e s p e c ia lly a f t e r 1955. At th a t time, when Europe was p ro sp erin g and sh o rt of an adequate labour fo rc e , the developed c o u n trie s looked fo r labour power in the c o u n tr ie s o f th e South. W ithin te n y e a r s , 7 p e r c e n t o f th e Greek population had em igrated, th e v a st m a jo rity of the m igrants being young p e o p l e d 67 * T his means t h a t th e most troublesom e o f th e m asses of unemployed in th e c i t i e s were gone, sending back generous rem ittances th a t covered the tr a d e - d e f ic it of th e economy. Moreover, the workers in th e sm all e n te r p r is e s were more e a s i l y c o n tr o lle d . In th e long ru n , these developments sp e lle d danger to th e socio-econcmic e d if ic e , but in the meantime the so c ial base of the Right was re in fo rc e d . *68}
The R ig h t's claim th a t i t had achieved a Greek "economic m iracle" is p a r t l y j u s t i f i e d . When e v e n tu a lly i t l o s t th e 1963 e l e c t i o n s , th e average n a tio n al p e r - c a p i t a income exceeded $550. A lthough n o t r i c h , Greece was no longer a poor country. But th is does not mean th a t i t had entered the phase of economic development. Aside from the fa c t th a t the Right had c re ate d a more unequal and u n f a ir so c ie ty , i t s economic p o lic y was inadequate fo r a lso p u rely economic reasons: i t d id not succeed in c re a tin g the full-employment o p p o rtu n itie s th a t would have p erm itted the Greeks to remain in th e ir own country. P. Bakoyiannis w rite s :
" . . . in d u s tr ia lis a tio n is r e a liz e d to the ex ten t th a t the f in a n c ia l c a p i ta l o b ta in s p r e r o g a tiv e s from the s t a te to th e d e trim e n t of in te r n a l and e x te r n a l a n ta g o n is ts . The phase of 'p ro d u c tiv e a n ta g o n is ti c c a p ita lis m ' in Greece has been skipped". ( 6 9}
finance/m erchant c a p ita l. S ta te investm ents in these se c to rs aimed a t c r e a t i n g c o n d itio n s t h a t would a t t r a c t p r i v a t e i n i t i a t i v e in to th e d ir e c tly productive s e c to rs , but f a ile d in t h e ir o b je c tiv e . The Greek econcmy d id not change i t s tr a d itio n a l c h a ra c te r. U ntil as la te as the l a te f i f t i e s , the Greek economy managed to re b u ild the damage of the 1940-1950 decade and to reproduce, on a q u a n tita v e ly broader b a s is , the s t r u c tu r e s and r e l a t i o n s o f p ro d u c tio n th a t had c h a r a c te r is e d th e econcmy before the war. No s u b s ta n tia l q u a lita tiv e transform ation took p lace in i t s productive s t r u c t u r e . 1701
To conclude then, the main fe a tu re of the c o u n try 's economy in the f i r s t decade a f t e r the c i v i l war was s t i l l i t s s a lie n t underdevelopment: an o v e rin fla te d , ra p id ly expanding t e r t i a r y se c to r; a badly organised and in e f f ic ie n t a g ric u ltu r a l se c to r employing more than on e-h alf of the lab o u r f o r c e ; and a weak, s ta g n a tin g m an u factu rin g s e c t o r . 171' As a r e s u l t, although the Greek econcmy could no longer be c h a ra c te rise d as underdeveloped, th e c la im t h a t i t s c o u rs e (and p r e s e n t s t a t e ) o f d evelopm ent to o k an "uneven" form , o r t h a t b o th d ev elo p m en t and underdevelopment c h a r a c te r is tic s c o e x ist sid e by s id e 172' —th is i s , we th in k , f u lly j u s t if i e d .
2 .1 .2 The p o lity
I t should have became c le a r from the preceding a n a ly sis th a t (a) the task of the c o u n try 's i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n was m ainly u n d ertak en by th e s t a te i t s e l f , and ( b ) , th a t t h i s , coming a f t e r the d e v asta tin g e f f e c ts of World War I I and the c iv i l war, led to the form ation from above of a corresponding so c ial c l a s s . 1731 In e f f e c t , Greek c a p ita lism had acquired
which) th e p o l i t i c a l s tr u g g le c e n t r e d . 1 75 > We in te n d to show in t h i s p a r t o f th e c h a p te r how, from th e e a r l y 1950s onw ards, th e R ight e s ta b lis h e d a "guided" o r lim ite d democracy, based on a f a n a t i c a l l y anti-co m m u n ist and r e p r e s s iv e s t a t e . As w ill be se en , t h i s k in d o f regime was to la s t u n til 1967, w ith only a sh o rt in te rv a l of L iberal government under the Centre Union from 1963 to 1965.
The foundations of the regime th a t was to r u le Greece a f t e r the war were s e t soon a f t e r the withdrawal of th e occupation fo rc e s .* 76 * This was done f i r s t , by means of th e n a tio n a l e le c tio n s of 31 March 1946, when most of th e re p u b lic a n fo r c e s and th e KKE (Comnunist P a rty of G reece) a b s t a i n e d , and th e m o n a r c h is t r i g h t- w in g f o r c e s won an overwhelming m ajo rity (65 p e r cent of th e v o te and 67 per cent of the se a ts in p arliam en t); and secondly, by means of the p le b is c ite (on 1 September 1946) on th e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l is s u e ( i . e . monarchy v e rs u s r e p u b l i c ) , when th e " ...c o m b in e d e f f e c t s o f t e r r o r and e x te n s iv e f a l s i f i c a t i o n gave the Monarchy an overwhelming 68 p er cent as opposed to 32 p e r c e n t fo r th e R e p u b lic " .* 77’ As M avrogordatos a rg u e s, th e e le c tio n and the p le b is c ite provided
" . . . t h e much needed and long d e la y ed c lo a k o f ’p o p u la r' le g itim a tio n to th e regim e e s ta b lis h e d by th e B r i t i s h a u t h o r i t i e s a f t e r l i b e r a t i o n a n d , above a l l , to th e monarchy, which the B r itis h regarded as the regim e's key s t o n e ... Monarchical r e s t o r a t i o n a ls o p ro v id ed an avenue o f n a tio n al r e h a b ilita tio n to the motley group of corrmon c rim in a ls, Metaxas' henchmen and occupation c o lla b o ra to rs who were quick to o f f e r t h e i r s e r v ic e s , and became th e
foremost agents of 'White T e rro r' in the K ing's name" (in E nglish o r i g in a ll y ) .* 78’
These two events —the e le c tio n and the p le b is c ite — played an irrportant ro le in what followed, namely the s o -c a lle d " th
