Lecture 15
Restoration of Democracy
I. Fall of the Junta
- The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974.
- The inability of Greece to do anything at all against the Turks caused the complete collapse of the Junta.
- Gizikis invited Karamanlis to return from exile in France, 24 July 1974.
- Karamanlis returned on 25 July 1974 and was sworn in as Prime Minister.
- The constitution of 1958 was restored (the constitution of 1968 was scrapped).
- Greece withdrew from the military wing of NATO, in part because virtually all Greeks blamed NATO (and the US) for the Cyprus disaster--what good was NATO if it could not protect Greece from the Turks?
B. New political parties were formed.
- Nea Demokratia (New Democracy), the party of Karamanlis, conservative (like Christian Democrats in Europe).
- Enosi Kentrou (Union of the Center), George Mavros, centerist.
- PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement), party of Andreas Papandreou, socialist.
- EDA (United Democratic Left), party that represented the KKE, which was still outlawed.
C. Parliamentary elections, 17 November 1974.
- There had been no elections for the past 10 years.
- Elections were for the 300 seats in Parliament.
- The results:
Nea Demokratia: 54% 220 seats
Enosi Kentrou: 20% 60 seats
PASOK: 13% 12 seats
EDA: 10% 8 seats
D. Referendum on the Monarchy
- 69% vote against the Monarchy.
- A new republication constitution was adopted: a President with a five-year term elected by the Parliament.
- The President had strong executive power, but Presidential veto can be overturned by a simple majority in Parliament.
- Karamanlis saw himself as a Greek de Gaul, with a desire to make Greece a strong, independent power, with a strong President.
- There was concern that Karamanlis would dominate the country through the Presidency and Andreas Papandreou and PASOK opposed the adoption of the new constitution for this reason.
- On 19 June 1975 Constantine Tsatsos was elected the first President, with 210 votes; Kanellopoulos gained 65 votes.
- In February 1975 there was an insurrection of pro-Junta military officers, but this was put down.
E. Justice for the Junta.
- In January 1975 Parliament determined that the Junta had come to power through a coup rather than as a revolution--this was a legal distinction, allowing the members of the Junta to be prosecuted.
- 24 people were taken to court and 18 were convicted.
- Papadopoulos, Pattakos, and Makarezos were condemned to death, but this sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by Karamanlis.
- Others were brought to trial but Ioannidis was never prosecuted for the Cyprus coup--some alleged that the trial would reveal CIA involvement, and this issue has never been settled.
- Nevertheless, many argued that too many supporters of the Junta remained in important positions, and that Karamanlis' government continued many of the Junta's policies.
II. Functioning of Democracy
- There was a de-facto partition of Cyprus, made more permanent by the settlement of mainland Turks in the North.
- There were something like 200,000 Greek refugees in the south, and most of the economic development had previously taken place in the North, which was held by the Turks.
- The descent of Lebanon into civil war in 1975 brought many Lebanese to Cyprus, and there was considerable economic investment in the South.
- Intercommunal talks went nowhere, in part because of distrust on both sides.
- In February 1975 the Turks proclaimed the independence of the North as the Turkish Federatred Republic of Cyprus, with Rauf Denktash as President.
- This Turkish state has not generally be recognized as legitimate and virtually all countries still recognize the government in the South as the sole legitimate state.
- American attempts to pressure Turkey into withdrawal from Cyprus failed when Turkey threatened to close American military bases.
- Makarios died in 1977 and party politics began to develop in Cyprus.
B. Dispute over the Aegean
- The dispute involved air space, coastal waters, and the exploitation of supposed oil deposits.
- In part the issue concerned the nearness of Greek islands to the coast of Turkey.
3. Greece felt that NATO gave the Turks the advantage.
4. The US established a 7:10 ration for military aid ($7 to Greece for every $10 to Turkey) in order to avoid an arms race.
5. An important point of dispute is the width of coastal waters.
C. Karamanlis and the EEC
- Karamanlis felt that Greece's future belonged with Europe and he set about to modernize the country.
- He proposed many policies that are now generally associated with PASOK:
3. Negotiations for Greece's membership in the European Economic Community (now European Union) began in July 1976.
4. Papandreou and PASOK were against this, as they were against Greece's membership in NATO and the continuation of American military bases in Greece.
D. Election of 20 November 1977.
1. The Communist Party (KKE) was now legal, but it had split into at least two wings, the old-style KKE of the exterior (with ties to Moscow) and KKE interior (Euro-Communist).
2. The main centrist party was EDIK, Union of the Democratic Center, and EPEN (National Rally) represented the extreme right.
3. The results, in which the main victor was PASOK, although ND remained in power:
Nea Demokratia 42% 172 seats
PASOK 25% 93 seats
EDIK 12% 15 seats
KKE 9% 11 seats
EPEN 7% 5 seats
4. The treaty of accession with the EEC was signed 28 May 1979 and Greece's place in the new Europe was decided, despite PASOK opposition.
5. Karamanlis became President 15 May 1980.
6. There was a Turkish military coup on 12 September 1980 and Greece re-entered NATO in October.
E. Elections of 18 October 1981.
1. PASOK continued its campaigns against the American bases and against Greece's membership in the EEC.
2. Papandreou campaigned with the slogan "Allage" (Change), arguing that Greece deserved a change from the right-wing politics that had dominated Greece since 1936.
3. Mitterand and the French Socialists had won elections in France earlier in the year.
4. Smaller parties remained, but the three main parties were ND, PASOK, and the KKE.
5. The results:
PASOK 172 seats
ND 115
KKE 13
6. There was great optimism that things were going to change in Greece.
Return to the History 517 List of Lectures