The most complete information guide about Athens, Greece
HISTORY OF ATHENS
The
Mid-War Period
The second Hellenic Republic
On
16 December 1923, elections were called anew, where the Liberals
were victorious in an overwhelming majority but without the participation
of the Royalists, who opted for abstention. Three days later,
King George left the country, while Pavlos Kountouriotis was appointed
Regent. A little bit later, Venizelos, responding to the mass
appeals of his supporters, returned to the country and consolidated
his electoral success.
The
tempestuous clashes that occurred, during the 4th Constitutional
Assembly, between Venizelos and Papanastasiou (by now leader of
the anti-Royalist party and leader of the party of Republic Union),
constituted the indication for party swings among the ruling party.
With the resignation of Venizelos and the ensuing split of his
party, Papanastasiou took over authority and put the processes
of official deposition of the royal dynasty into effect.
On
25 March 1924, the National Assembly proclaimed Greece a Republic,
while a bit later, on 13 April, the plebiscite, with an overwhelming
percentage (69,5%), condoned the change of constitution. The leader
of the People's Party, Panayis Tsaldaris, refused to accept it,
a fact that, with the exception of Ioannis Metaxas, resulted to
the non-recognition of the constitutional change by the anti-Venizelist
bloc.
At
the time, across Europe, the political situation was also unsettled.
Athens, and the whole country, was divided by the conflict between
the supporters and the opponents of Venizelos, the leader of the
Liberal party, which initiated the country’s development
and modernization between the second and the fourth decades of
the 20th century. Those who opposed Venizelos were generally in
favor of the monarch, which had been abolished between 1924 and
1935. Although the majority of native Athenians opposed Venizelos,
most of the refugees supported him since his government had taken
measures for their relief.
The
First Republican Government
The
republican constitution, already from the first days of its establishment,
could not effectively consolidate itself. Extended cases of arbitrariness
and political negligence contributed to the downfall of the first
republican government of Alexandros Papanastasiou, in 1924. After
a political tug-of-war, Themistoklis Sophoulis became prime minister
but the rioting that occurred in the Navy corps during summer
soon terminated the life of this government as well.
The
state management was assigned this time to Andreas Michalakopoulos
(7/10/1924), who eliminated a new military coup but did not manage
to avoid the escalation of violent and bloody labor mobilizations.
In the framework of parliament sessions, the Republicans denounced
the foundation of "Fascist" societies by Georgios Kondylis,
minister of the Interior and powerful man of the regime. The latter's
resignation, paved the way for a new coup, this time by General
Theodoros Pangalos.