Venizelos, the Republic and political instability

ProjectGreece.

The History of Greece, from 1800 to today.

A twenty-episode series that narrates the journey of modern Greece with sobriety, composure, and documentation.

Eleventh Episode.

Welcome to another episode of the series "The History of Greece, from 1800 to today."

In the previous episode, we reached the end of 1924. The Asia Minor Catastrophe had overturned the social and political map, the compulsory exchange of populations was underway, and the monarchy had been abolished. The republic without a king had been proclaimed by the Constituent Assembly and approved by referendum, in a country however that was deeply divided and burdened by wars, the refugee crisis, and military interventions in politics.

On 1 January 1925, the President of the Republic is Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis and the Prime Minister is Andreas Michalakopoulos. The new form of government does not yet signify a stable democratic regime. Parties are being reorganized, the army remains a political factor, and the Fourth Constituent Assembly has not completed the new Constitution. In the next ten years, Greece will experience a dictatorship, a return to parliamentarism, a four-year period of relative stability, and new acute polarization.

On 25 June 1925, military units under Lieutenant General Theodoros Pangalos move against the government. Michalakopoulos resigns, and on 26 June, the Pangalos government is formed. The move is not an electoral change of power. It begins as a military coup and initially receives a vote of confidence from an Assembly already operating under pressure.

Pangalos restricts the press, persecutes opponents, and uses deportations and courts-martial. At the beginning of January 1926, he dissolves the Constituent Assembly and openly establishes a dictatorial regime. His period is not correctly described either as a normal parliamentary government or as a complete suspension of every state institution: old forms of legality are used to cover the arbitrary concentration of power.

In October 1925, a border incident on the Greco-Bulgarian frontier escalates quickly. Greek forces cross into Bulgarian territory, and the League of Nations calls for a cessation of operations, withdrawal, and an international investigation. Death tolls differ, and we will not provide a certain total number. The popular story that it all began with a stray dog is not sufficiently documented to be presented as fact.

In March 1926, Kountouriotis submits his resignation. The exact institutional transition has different dates in the records: the resignation is recorded on 19 March, his final acts as president in early April, and the assumption of presidential functions by Pangalos on 6 April. On 18 April, within a controlled political environment, Pangalos is installed in the presidency. This is not a free presidential election comparable to a later parliamentary process.

On 19 July, Athanasios Eftaxias replaces Pangalos as Prime Minister, without changing the dictatorial character of the regime. On 22 August, General Georgios Kondylis overthrows Pangalos. A few days of revolutionary administration follow, and on 26 August, the Kondylis government begins. Kountouriotis returns to the presidency on 24 August.

Kondylis announces elections and states that he will not participate. The elections of 7 November 1926, using a proportional system, do not provide a parliamentary majority. On 4 December, a broad coalition is formed under Alexandros Zaimis. The restoration of parliamentary governance is real but fragile: the military precedent remains, and the parties must coexist in a Parliament without a clear majority.

The ballot brings both Venizelist and anti-Venizelist factions back to Parliament, as well as smaller political forces. Simple proportionality encourages cooperation without curing mistrust. The "ecumenical" government constitutes a conscious attempt to close the dictatorial parenthesis and complete the Constitution. However, it is not a deep national reconciliation: different perceptions regarding democracy, Venizelos, the army, and the monarchy continue to divide political life.

On 3 June 1927, the Constitution of the Hellenic Republic is voted upon. It establishes a Parliament and a Senate, an elected president with limited responsibilities, and explicit parliamentary responsibility of the government. Popular sovereignty and rights are enshrined in the text, but the Constitution cannot by itself neutralize the National Schism, army networks, or social inequality.

Zaimis leads three successive government schemes from December 1926 to 4 July 1928. The cooperation of Venizelist and anti-Venizelist forces is difficult, yet it completes the constitutional transition and proceeds with economic stabilization. The Geneva Protocol of 15 September 1927 links an international loan with monetary and fiscal supervision and the creation of a central bank.

To be clear about the government sequence: the first Zaimis scheme lasts from 4 December 1926 to 17 August 1927, the second until 8 February 1928, and the third until 4 July. These changes are not three different popular mandates, but reshuffles and reconfigurations of the parliamentary cooperation. Precise recording matters, because otherwise the period seems either more stable or more chaotic than it was.

The Bank of Greece begins operating on 14 May 1928 and assumes the issuance of currency. The drachma joins the gold exchange standard. For the government and international creditors, the stability of the currency constitutes a prerequisite for investment and lending. For society, however, stabilization is accompanied by fiscal constraints, while the burdens of rehabilitation and the needs for housing and employment remain.

Eleftherios Venizelos actively returns to politics and, on 4 July, forms a government. In the elections of 19 August 1928, the Liberals and their allies win a broad parliamentary majority. The extent of the victory is also influenced by the majoritarian electoral system. It does not mean that anti-Venizelist Greece disappears or that all refugees constitute a single electoral body.

The four-year period 1928–1932 is associated with roads, land reclamation and water supply projects, new school buildings, administrative changes, and an effort to modernize education. The projects are supported by state resources and foreign loans. Their benefits are not distributed equally, and development does not resolve poverty, unemployment, or unequal working conditions in the countryside and in refugee districts.

Educational policy seeks more primary schools, new buildings, and a more practical orientation, while the demotic language gains ground in the early grades. Implementation depends on teachers, local infrastructure, and state funding. Girls participate more than in previous decades, but family obligations, poverty, and expectations regarding gender roles continue to limit their school and professional path.

In July 1929, Law 4229, known as the "Idionymo," is passed. Formally, it is directed against the pursuit of the violent overthrow of the social order and actions considered a threat to territorial integrity. In its application, it mainly strikes at communists, trade unionists, and labor mobilizations, with imprisonments and deportations. It does not formally ban the Communist Party, but it substantially restricts political and trade union activity.

The prime ministerial succession also requires precision. Venizelos does not lead an unchanging cabinet throughout the four-year period. His first government lasts from 4 July 1928 to 7 June 1929, the second until 16 December, and the third until 26 May 1932. These are successive government formations under the same prime minister and the same strong parliamentary base, not three separate electoral periods.

Refugee rehabilitation changes the country. The Refugee Settlement Commission organizes land allotments, settlements, and urban housing, mainly in Macedonia and Thrace but also around large urban centers. Refugees contribute to cultivation, crafts, industrial labor, and the expansion of cities. At the same time, they face insecurity, poor housing, competition for land and labor, and often prejudice from native populations.

Rehabilitation also has a gender dimension. In many households, women combine paid work, domestic production, and care, while widows and families without an adult male claim housing, land, or work through rules that often view the man as the head of the family. Experiences differ between rural settlements, city shanties, and organized districts, which is why the term "refugees" does not describe a single social fate.

In February 1930, a limited right to vote for women in municipal and community elections is established. It concerns literate women over the age of thirty and does not include participation in parliamentary elections nor full political equality. Administrative barriers and social perceptions further limit its application. It is a step, not the universal female suffrage that will come much later.

On 30 October 1930, Venizelos and Ismet Inonu sign a pact of friendship, neutrality, conciliation, and arbitration in Ankara. The Greco-Turkish rapprochement seeks security and the settlement of outstanding exchange issues, particularly property and economic matters. It does not negate the compulsory uprooting, the losses, or the grievances of the refugees, but it shifts the interstate relationship from confrontation toward cooperation.

The diplomatic turn also serves an economic calculation: Athens wants to limit the cost of the arms race and stabilize the regional environment. The agreement provokes reactions among refugees who feel that their property claims are being sacrificed for reconciliation. Therefore, the same act can be considered a success of interstate peacemaking and at the same time a painful compromise for citizens who lost property and homeland.

The international crisis that begins in 1929 reaches Greece through the reduction of exports, migrant remittances, and available foreign capital. The government tries to keep the drachma pegged to gold, even after Britain abandons it in 1931. The defense of the currency exhausts foreign exchange reserves and imposes strict restrictions. The crisis does not hit everyone the same: producers of exportable products, wage earners, the unemployed, and over-indebted households have different experiences.

On 26 April 1932, Greece abandons the gold exchange standard and restricts the free foreign exchange market. From 1 May, the transfer of payments for foreign public debt is suspended and the drachma is devalued. The term "bankruptcy" is often used, but it hides the individual acts: monetary change, negotiation with creditors, and restriction of payments. Economists disagree on the weight of each choice and on how quickly the devaluation helped internal production.

The crisis destroys the political stability of the four-year period. On 26 May 1932, Alexandros Papanastasiou forms a short-lived government. On 5 June, Venizelos returns and remains until 4 November. After the September elections, which do not provide a viable majority, Panagis Tsaldaris becomes Prime Minister. The alternation takes place parliamentarily, but the political system re-enters a period of uncertainty.

The change is not only the result of personal confrontation. The recession limits credit, pressures wages and agricultural incomes, and makes debt servicing more difficult. The opposition accuses the government of monetary defense and borrowing, while the Liberals highlight the projects and the stability of the previous years. Economic crisis and the National Schism feed off each other, without one cause explaining all political change on its own.

On 16 January 1933, Venizelos forms a final, short-lived government and leads the country to new elections. On 5 March, the anti-Venizelist United Opposition prevails. The difference in votes does not translate mechanically into seats, because the electoral system intervenes. The substantive result is that Tsaldaris can form a majority government.

On election night, Nikolaos Plastiras attempts a military coup to prevent the winners from taking power. The interim government of Alexandros Othonaios lasts from 6 to 10 March. The coup fails, and on 10 March, Tsaldaris normally assumes the premiership. Venizelos' personal knowledge, approval, or responsibility for the plan is not considered proven and remains a subject of historiographical disagreement.

The failure of the coup immediately restores parliamentary government, but it injures the democratic legitimacy of the Venizelists and strengthens the suspicion of their opponents. On 6 June 1933, an armed assassination attempt against Venizelos occurs on Kifisias Avenue. He himself survives; people in his escort are killed or wounded. The interrogation and the trial are politicized; we will not present the identity of all those who ordered the act as judicially and historically resolved.

In the meantime, social conflict is not limited to the leaders. Labor demands, agricultural debts, and refugee needs encounter police surveillance and the application of the Idionymo. Women work in agriculture, the tobacco industry, textile manufacturing, services, and within the unpaid family economy, but are usually paid less and have limited political representation. The categories "workers," "farmers," "refugees," and "women" are not homogeneous political camps.

In the 1934 municipal elections, women exercise the limited right established in 1930 for the first time on a nationwide scale. Participation is low, and the figures published often refer to different geographical scales, which is why we will not give a single total as absolutely certain. The historical significance lies in the institutional fissure, along with the fact that the vast majority of adult women continue to be excluded.

On 9 February 1934, Greece, Turkey, Romania, and Yugoslavia sign the Balkan Pact in Athens. The goal is the mutual guarantee of Balkan borders and coordination against revisionist pressures. The pact does not constitute a general military union for every possible war and does not solve all regional differences. It shows, however, how much Greek diplomacy has moved away from the Greco-Turkish conflict of the previous decade.

On 19 October 1934, Alexandros Zaimis is re-elected President of the Republic. Panagis Tsaldaris remains Prime Minister. Until 31 December, the Constitution of 1927 continues to be formally in force, the Parliament functions, and the monarchy has not been restored. Behind this institutional continuity, however, failed military interventions, the attempt against Venizelos, and mutual mistrust have weakened democracy.

The decade 1925–1934 is not a straight path of failure. It includes the overthrow of a dictatorship, the adoption of a democratic Constitution, elections, public works, refugee creation, a limited expansion of the female vote, and a diplomatic rapprochement with Turkey and the Balkans. It also includes censorship, deportations, social repression, economic crisis, and the repeated recourse of officers to arms. This coexistence of progress and institutional violence explains the fragility of the regime.

In the next episode, we will move to 1935. We will see a new military coup, the collapse of the republic without a king and the restoration of the monarchy, the rise of Ioannis Metaxas and the dictatorship of the Fourth of August, until Greece finds itself facing the war of 1940.

Find all episodes at ProjectGreece.gr, along with references, additional material, explanations, sources, and bibliography.

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