Institutional successes and failures of the Greek Third Republic (1974-2024)
What are the achievements we should protect? What are the failures we should eliminate?
I was seven years old on July 24, 1974, as Thessaloniki celebrated, and the chant “he’s coming!” sounded from cars, the streets and balconies. The optimism of those days was vindicated. Fifty years on, Greece is vastly different from what it was in 1974. There have been many changes, but I will focus on the institutional ones.
In 1974, the Third Hellenic Republic began. The two previous periods ended ingloriously. The First Republic (1822-1827), during the revolution against the Ottoman Empire, faded when Ioannis Kapodistrias demanded the suspension of the Troezen Constitution. This was followed by 16 years of authoritarian rule (1828-1843) until the Greeks demanded that King Otto grant them a Constitution. The second began in 1924, when, after the Asia Minor Catastrophe, the supporters of Eleftherios Venizelos expelled King George II and declared a republic. However, it was overthrown again with the restoration of the monarchy in 1935. These two periods were circumstantial and far from smooth. While their institutional legacy should not be underestimated, they should not be idealized either. They have little to do with the era that began in 1974, which is the best, institutionally, period in the history of the modern Greek state.
The Third Hellenic Republic was born in conditions of national disaster, much like the second. However, the transition from military rule to a modern liberal democracy was so smooth and successful that it serves as a good international example. This success is largely due to Konstantinos Karamanlis, who returned wiser from Paris, with a very clear vision of his goals and the country’s limitations. In record time, Karamanlis transformed the post-civil war authoritarian state into a nation worthy of participating in the most advanced and progressive union of states in the world, the European Economic Community.
You can read the rest of my op-ed by clicking here.
For the original Greek version, click here.
[The op-ed was originally written by me in Greek for the Sunday edition of Kathimerini and was selected for the international edition of the newspaper and translated by its staff.]