Parliamentary elections were held in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
on 9 September 1951.
Dieter Nohlen
Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...
& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p830 They resulted in an ambivalent outcome, consisting a narrow and pyrrhic, as proven later, victory for the ruling center-liberal parties of
Sophoklis Venizelos
Sofoklis Venizelos (, also transliterated as Sophocles Venizelos) (3 November 1894 – 7 February 1964) was a Greeks, Greek politician, who three times served as Prime Minister of Greece – in 1944 (in exile), 1950 and 1950–1951.
Life and ca ...
and
Nikolaos Plastiras
Nikolaos Plastiras ( el, Νικόλαος Πλαστήρας; 4 November 1883 – 26 July 1953) was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he b ...
.
Background
After the
Greek elections of 1950, when the divided centrist parties had a clear majority in the
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
political instability was the main characteristic of the political life in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. The subsequent centre-liberal governments of
Sophoklis Venizelos
Sofoklis Venizelos (, also transliterated as Sophocles Venizelos) (3 November 1894 – 7 February 1964) was a Greeks, Greek politician, who three times served as Prime Minister of Greece – in 1944 (in exile), 1950 and 1950–1951.
Life and ca ...
,
Nikolaos Plastiras
Nikolaos Plastiras ( el, Νικόλαος Πλαστήρας; 4 November 1883 – 26 July 1953) was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he b ...
and
Georgios Papandreou
Georgios Papandreou ( ''Geórgios Papandréou''; 13 February 1888 – 1 November 1968) was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as prime minister of Greece (1944–1945, 1963, 1964–196 ...
did not manage to ensure and enforce stability. As a result,
Nikolaos Plastiras
Nikolaos Plastiras ( el, Νικόλαος Πλαστήρας; 4 November 1883 – 26 July 1953) was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he b ...
supported a
People's Party government, under the terms that the latter would soon conduct elections.
Outcome
First party in the elections of 1951 was the just-founded
Greek Rally
Greek Rally ( el, Ἑλληνικὸς Συναγερμός (ΕΣ), ''Ellīnikòs Synagermós'' (ES)) was a right-wing political party in Greece.
History
Founded on 6 August 1951 by former field marshal Alexandros Papagos, the party encompassed ...
of
Alexandros Papagos
Alexandros Papagos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Παπάγος; 9 December 1883 – 4 October 1955) was a Greek army officer who led the Hellenic Army in World War II and the later stages of the subsequent Greek Civil War. The only Greek career of ...
, which swept the traditionally dominant right-wing
People's Party. Nevertheless, the two major centrist-liberal parties, the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
and the
National Progressive Center Union
The National Progressive Centre Union ( el, Εθνική Προοδευτική Ένωση Κέντρου (ΕΠΕΚ) , translit=Ethniki Proodeftiki Enosis Kentrou , EPEK) was a Greek Venizelist political party. It was founded in 1950 by Nikolaos ...
, elected more deputies than the conservatives.
The left-wing
EDA EDA or Eda may refer to:
Computing
* Electronic design automation
* Enterprise Desktop Alliance, a computer technology consortium
* Enterprise digital assistant
* Estimation of distribution algorithm
* Event-driven architecture
* Exploratory ...
, a party believed to have been affiliated with the outlaw during 1950-1974
Communist Party of Greece
The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece.
Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curren ...
, made its first appearance in these elections.
Results
Aftermath
Since no party or alliance had the absolute majority in the
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and
Alexandros Papagos
Alexandros Papagos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Παπάγος; 9 December 1883 – 4 October 1955) was a Greek army officer who led the Hellenic Army in World War II and the later stages of the subsequent Greek Civil War. The only Greek career of ...
refused to participate in a government of national unity, the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
and the
National Progressive Center Union
The National Progressive Centre Union ( el, Εθνική Προοδευτική Ένωση Κέντρου (ΕΠΕΚ) , translit=Ethniki Proodeftiki Enosis Kentrou , EPEK) was a Greek Venizelist political party. It was founded in 1950 by Nikolaos ...
formed a minority government under the leadership of
Nikolaos Plastiras
Nikolaos Plastiras ( el, Νικόλαος Πλαστήρας; 4 November 1883 – 26 July 1953) was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he b ...
, which lasted for about a year, since 1952, when
Nikolaos Plastiras
Nikolaos Plastiras ( el, Νικόλαος Πλαστήρας; 4 November 1883 – 26 July 1953) was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he b ...
submitted his resignation and
new legislative elections were proclaimed by the King
Paul I Paul I may refer to:
*Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch
*Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople
*Pope Paul I (700–767)
*Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia
*Paul ...
.
References
{{Greek elections
Parliamentary elections in Greece
Legislative election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
1950s in Greek politics
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
Legl