Abstract

The Deadlock in Greece

This article focuses on the political crises in Greece. The crisis began in July, 1965, when King Constantine summarily dismissed Prime Minister George Papandreou and proceeded to buy off enough of the deputies in Papandreou's party, the Center Union, to form, with the parliamentary votes of the right-wing parties, the puppet government of Premier Stephanopoulos, which lasted until December, 1966. The stage had been set as early as 1964, when George Papandreou at the head of the Center Union coalition captured an absolute majority of the parliamentary seats. He broke the control of the rural gendarmerie over the countryside, renegotiated contracts with large foreign monopolies on terms more favorable to Greece, reformed the educational system and introduced an air of political freedom by severely limiting the political activities of the dossier-keeping security forces and by proclaiming a general amnesty for political prisoners.