Venizelism ( el, Βενιζελισμός) was one of the major political movements 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 ...
from the 1900s until the mid-1970s.
Main ideas
Named after
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movem ...
, the key characteristics of Venizelism were:
*Greek
irredentism
Irredentism is usually understood as a desire that one state annexes a territory of a neighboring state. This desire is motivated by ethnic reasons (because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent sta ...
: The support of the
Megali Idea
The Megali Idea ( el, Μεγάλη Ιδέα, Megáli Idéa, Great Idea) is a nationalist and irredentist concept that expresses the goal of reviving the Byzantine Empire, by establishing a Greek state, which would include the large Greek popul ...
.
*
Greek nationalism
Greek nationalism (or Hellenic nationalism) refers to the nationalism of Greeks and Greek culture.. As an ideology, Greek nationalism originated and evolved in pre-modern times. It became a major political movement beginning in the 18th century, ...
(
liberal nationalism
Civic nationalism, also known as liberal nationalism, is a form of nationalism identified by political philosophers who believe in an inclusive form of nationalism that adheres to traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, in ...
)
*
Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into diff ...
: Venizelists represented upcoming urban classes that were against the old conservative establishment, which also had close ties with the palace.
*Pro-Western: Alliance with the
Entente
Entente, meaning a diplomatic "understanding", may refer to a number of agreements:
History
* Entente (alliance), a type of treaty or military alliance where the signatories promise to consult each other or to cooperate with each other in case o ...
against the Central Powers during WWI, and with the Allies during WWII. Also pro-Western during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, but later diverged with direct confrontation between Greek nationalist forces in Cyprus against British colonial forces.
*
Republicanism
Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
: Despite Venizelos' moderation regarding the monarchy, most of his supporters were in favour of a Republic, on the French standards.
*
Mixed economic policies: from
economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
to
social democracy
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
policies.
*
Anti-Bolshevism: Venizelos rejected the bolshevik system and was the main introducer of the ''
Idionymon
''Idionymon'' ( el, ιδιώνυμο, literally "that which has its own name", also translated as "special illegal act" or ''delictum sui generis''), is a Greek legal term referring to a criminal offense which is treated distinctly from the general ...
'' anticommunist law in 1929. In a speech he had delivered in the Greek parliament he had stated that socialism is democratic and
Bolshevism
Bolshevism (from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, fo ...
authoritarian.
In the contemporary sense the ideology incorporates
national liberalism
National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism).
A seri ...
,
civic nationalism
Civic nationalism, also known as liberal nationalism, is a form of nationalism identified by political philosophers who believe in an inclusive form of nationalism that adheres to traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, in ...
,
economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
,
liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into diff ...
,
pro-Europeanism
Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Politi ...
,
republicanism
Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
,
secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...
,
centrism
Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...
,
radical centrism
Radical centrism (also called the radical center, the radical centre or the radical middle) is a concept that arose in Western nations in the late 20th century.
The ''radical'' in the term refers to a willingness on the part of most radical cen ...
and generally moves from centre-right to social democracy.
History
Liberal Party
Venizelos' liberal party ruled Greece from 1910 until 1916. That year, determined to enter
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
on the entente side, Venizelos
rebelled against the king and formed a
Provisional Government of National Defence
The Provisional Government of National Defence (), also known as the State of Thessaloniki (Κράτος της Θεσσαλονίκης), was a parallel administration, set up in the city of Thessaloniki by former Prime Minister Eleftherios Ve ...
in Thessaloniki. Venizelos regained full control of the country in 1917 and ruled until losing the 1920 elections. The strongest support for Venizelism came in the "New Greece" gained after the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 consisting of Crete, Thrace, Epirus, the North Aegean islands, and Macedonia. By contrast, people in "Old Greece" tended to be more much royalist. The fact that in 1916 King
Constantine I
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
had allowed the Bulgarians to occupy parts of Macedonia and had been willing to contemplate giving up all of recently gained "New Greece" in the north to the Bulgarians to weaken the Venizelist movement cemented the identification of people in northern Greece with Venizelism.
Refugees from Turkey also tended to be strongly Venizelist, at least until the 1930s and the signing of the Greco-Turkish friendship agreement by Venizelos (1930).
Voters started to favour a balance between Venizelos and Constantine I. This crisis period for Venizelos occurred when Greece experienced a lagging economy, growing political corruption, profiteering by the few, and eight continuous years of mobilization.
After a crisis period (including two short-lived pro-Venizelist military governments after
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 ...
1922 revolution) the liberals returned to power from 1928 until 1932. Venizelists
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
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 ...
formed the core of the
Greek government in exile
The Greek government-in-exile was formed in 1941, in the aftermath of the Battle of Greece and the subsequent occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The government-in-exile was based in Cairo, Egypt, and hence it is also referr ...
during the
Axis Occupation of Greece (1941–1944), and held power a number of times in the 1950s.
Centre Union
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 ...
created the
Centre Union
The Centre Union ( el, Ἕνωσις Κέντρου ''Énōsis Kéntrou'', abbreviated ΕΚ) was a major centrist political party in Greece, created in 1961 by Georgios Papandreou.Clogg, 1987, pp. 39–40
History
The Centre Union was a politica ...
party in 1961, as a coalition of old Venizelists and progressive politicians. In 1963 the party was elected and held power until 1965, when its right wing broke ranks in the events known as the ''
Apostasia''. The current
Union of Centrists
The Union of Centrists ( el, Ένωση Κεντρώων, Énosi Kentróon, ) is a centrist, liberal political party in Greece. The leader and founder of the party is the veteran anti-corruption activist Vassilis Leventis. It strongly supports Gr ...
claims to be the ideological continuation of the old party Centre Union.
Centrist Democratic Union
After the
1967–1974 Junta, Venizelists formed the
Centre Union – New Forces
Centre Union – New Forces (EK-ND, Greek: ''Ένωσις Κέντρου-Νέες Δυνάμεις'' (Ε.Κ. – Ν.Δ.), ''Enosi Kentrou-Nees Dynameis'') was the continuation of the Centre Union party of George Papandreou after the military junt ...
party, which then evolved into the
Union of the Democratic Centre ( el, ΕΔΗΚ). While the Venizelist legacy was still popular, election results were disappointing as the abolition of the monarchy, the dilution of support for Greek nationalism after the seven years of the junta and the 1974
Turkish invasion of Cyprus
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish ...
, and
Karamanlis' move towards the political centre had blurred the differences between the liberals and their former conservative opponents, while the socialist
PASOK
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...
party was gaining support at the left side of the spectrum.
Most members of the
Centre Union – New Forces
Centre Union – New Forces (EK-ND, Greek: ''Ένωσις Κέντρου-Νέες Δυνάμεις'' (Ε.Κ. – Ν.Δ.), ''Enosi Kentrou-Nees Dynameis'') was the continuation of the Centre Union party of George Papandreou after the military junt ...
party with their leader
Georgios Mavros
Georgios Mavros ( el, Γεώργιος Μαύρος) (Kastellorizo, 15 March 1909 – Athens, 6 May 1995) was a Greek jurist and politician. He served in several ministerial posts, and was Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister ...
were absorbed by PASOK.
Legacy
Although the image of Venizelos is still very popular in Greece today, Venizelism is no longer a major force in Greek politics. Venizelos' prestige however and his ideology's connotations of republicanism, and progressive reforms means that most mainstream political forces claim his political heritage. There are few explicitly "Venizelist" movements today in Greece. In the 2004 elections for the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, the leading Venizelist party was the
Union of Centrists
The Union of Centrists ( el, Ένωση Κεντρώων, Énosi Kentróon, ) is a centrist, liberal political party in Greece. The leader and founder of the party is the veteran anti-corruption activist Vassilis Leventis. It strongly supports Gr ...
, gaining only 0.54% of the Greek popular vote. An attempted revival of the original Liberal Party,
under the same name, was founded in the 1980s by Venizelos' grandson,
Nikitas Venizelos
Nikitas Venizelos ( el, Νικήτας Βενιζέλος; July 1930 – 12 February 2020) was a Greek shipping magnate and politician who ran Venezelos SA.
He was involved also in politics. In the 1980s, he attempted a revival of the original l ...
.
Anti-venizelism
There were also various politicians of different political orientation during the 1910s (monarchists, conservatives, part of the clergy, but also socialists/communists of the newly founded
SEKE) who were against Venizelos' policies. Some points of disagreement included the Venizelos' extreme pro-
Entente
Entente, meaning a diplomatic "understanding", may refer to a number of agreements:
History
* Entente (alliance), a type of treaty or military alliance where the signatories promise to consult each other or to cooperate with each other in case o ...
stance during the World War I and the
National Schism
The National Schism ( el, Εθνικός Διχασμός, Ethnikós Dichasmós), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between Constantine I of Greece, King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizel ...
(which led to the division of the country between a venizelist and a royalist government), his policy about the
Megali idea
The Megali Idea ( el, Μεγάλη Ιδέα, Megáli Idéa, Great Idea) is a nationalist and irredentist concept that expresses the goal of reviving the Byzantine Empire, by establishing a Greek state, which would include the large Greek popul ...
and its results (regarding the relations with
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and the Greeks who were still under Ottoman sovereignty) and later the
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne (french: Traité de Lausanne) was a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 and signed in the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially settled the conflic ...
and the
population exchange
Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration, often imposed by state policy or international authority and most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion but also due to economic development. Banishment or exile is a ...
.
With antivenizelism sided also the religious minorities in Greece (Muslim, Jewish etc.), being in general of conservative political orientation.
Isabelle Dépret, "Ioannis Metaxas and Religion (1938–41): Historical Experience and Current Debates in Greece", ''Cahiers balkaniques'', 42, 2014
In french Another common point of the antivenizelists was a criticism about the country's social and economical transformation/modernization, such as critics for political/economical mismanagement.
See also
*Greek nationalism
Greek nationalism (or Hellenic nationalism) refers to the nationalism of Greeks and Greek culture.. As an ideology, Greek nationalism originated and evolved in pre-modern times. It became a major political movement beginning in the 18th century, ...
*Liberalism in Greece
This article gives an overview of liberalism in Greece. Liberal parties in Greece are largely committed to liberalism, republicanism and democracy. It is limited to liberal parties.
History
Each of the following sections describes an element of ...
*Metaxism
Metaxism ( el, Μεταξισμός) is an authoritarian nationalist ideology associated with Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas. It called for the regeneration of the Greek nation and the establishment of a modern, culturally homogenous Greece.Gert ...
References
Further reading
* Paschalis M. Kitromilides, ''Eleftherios Venizelos: The Trials of Statesmanship'', Edinburgh University Press 2008, pp. 285–306.
{{Movement of National Defence
Greek nationalism
History of modern Greece
Political movements
Political movements in Greece
Eleftherios Venizelos
Liberalism in Greece
Eponymous political ideologies
Political history of Greece
20th century in Greece
Megali Idea