In the past few days we have witnessed a new lesson in political comedy: Greece is in danger! It is customary for Greek political opponents to invoke national dangers for electioneering purposes.
The threat was invariably comes from abroad or lurks domestically. Its existence in any case is confirmed from both sides.
The scene takes place about 50 years ago, in February of 1964, on the even of Georgios Papandreou’s electoral triumph.
The Right wing at the time (Konstantinos Karamanlis’ ERE, which at time abstained from the electoral race and was based in Paris) had invoked scenarios of a numismatic catastrophe…
ERE’s election campaigns were dominated by slogans such as “this drachma is yours, do not allow Papandreou to ruin it!”
The elections took place and Georgios Papandreou’s Center Union won. The drachma carried on…
The dictatorship of April 1967 that followed was an imported danger. Those who set up the dictatorship were the same ones who withdrew it.
The real danger of the newly-established democratic regime being toppled over was averted in the fall of 1981, with the huge victory of PASOK. On the eve of the elections, when the result was obvious, the four chiefs of the Armed Forces (General Staff of National Defense, Army, Navy and Air Force) submitted their resignation to the President of the Republic. Konstantinos Karamanlis, who did not hide his anger, told them to withdraw their resignations and return to their posts. Thanks to the Karamanlis method of response the danger was quickly averted.
Subsequently, the true cooperation of the President and Prime Minister allowed Democracy to hold up and withstand many trials.
As we all know our limits, it is reasonable for one to expect that after the elections, when the people have cast their vote and decided, everything will be better…
Stavros P. Psycharis
Originally published in the Sunday print edition
