The election campaign was dominated by the ongoing constitutional crisis instigated by Papandreou in March 1985 to advance his preferred candidate, Christos Sartzetakis, for the president of Greece and consolidating his power by removing presidential powers that were acting as checks and balances against Papandreou's position. The presidential vote took place amid intense political tension and accusations of constitutional violations, ending with Sartzetakis becoming president. Mitsotakis as leader of opposition denounced the presidential election as illegal and vowed to remove Sartzetakis if his party won, deepening the constitutional crisis.
The confrontation from the presidential election continued into the general election campaigns and polarized the Greek society. On one hand Papandreou invoked memories of the Greek Civil War (1946–1949) and Junta (1967–1974) associating New Democracy with the authoritarian Right of the past, while Mitsotakis warned the public of Papandreou's totalitarian designs. However, Sartzetakis' election ultimately benefited Papandreou and his party to secure victory in the general elections by consolidating support from the Left, even as they lost ground in the Center and Greece's worsening economy under his governance.
After the election, all political parties accepted Sartzetakis as president, ending the constitutional crisis, and the constitutional amendments took effect in 1986. The monopoly of power and dominance of Papandreou in the elections caused strategic reevaluation and alignment in the New Democracy and communist parties that led to the fall of Papandreou in 1989.
In 1985, Papandreou provoked a constitutional crisis by denying Konstantinos Karamanlis a second presidential term and supporting Supreme Court justice Christos Sartzetakis instead.[2] His choice sparked further controversy, as it was tied with proposals of constitutional reforms aimed at increasing the power of his position by weakening the presidential powers, which had served as checks and balances on the executive branch led by the prime minister.[3][4][5] The election of the new president took place in March 1985 under a tense and confrontational atmosphere due to Papandreou's dubious constitutional procedures.[6] The leader of opposition, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, denounced the vote illegal and vowed that if New Democracy won the elections, Sartzetakis would not be president by bringing the legality of the process to Council of State (Greek: Συμβούλιο Επικρατείας), further deepening the constitutional crisis.[7][8]
Scholars argued that the crisis was motivated by Papandreou's desire to divert the Greek electorate's attention away from the worsening state of the Greek economy (unemployment increased under PASOK from 2.7% in 1980 to 7.8% in 1985,[9] annual inflation of the order of 20%,[10] and widening trade deficits).[11][12] According to a public opinion survey by Eurobarometer, the number of Greeks who believed that the economic situation worsened increased from 37.7% in 1983 to 70.2% in 1985, while those who believed that it improved fall from 31.5% to 12.8% in the same period.[13]
Election campaigns
The logo of PASOK in the elections of 1981
Both parties continued their confrontations over the constitutional crisis in their election campaigns, where the political polarization reached new heights. Mitsotakis declared, "In voting, the Greek people will also be voting for a president"[14] and also warned that there is a danger of sliding towards an authoritarian one-party state.[15] The president's office responded, "The president of the republic will remain the vigilant guardian of the constitution."[16] From PASOK, Agamemnon Koutsogiorgas described what was at stake not as "oranges and tomatoes but the confrontation between two worlds." [17] Papandreou followed this by characterizing the upcoming elections as a fight between light and darkness in his rallies, implying that PASOK represented the "forces of light" since its logo was a rising sun.[17] Papandreou further argued that every vote against PASOK was a vote for the return of the Right with the slogan "Vote PASOK to prevent a return of the Right."[18] The communists, persecuted by the Right in the 1950s, protested against Papandreou's dwelling on the past, pointing out that the 1980s were not the same as the 1950s.[18]The Economist magazine described Greece as a "country divided," tearing itself apart and opening the wounds of Civil War.[19]
Two days before the elections, Karamanlis broke his silence and urged the Greeks to be cautious with their vote (without explicitly advising who to vote), commenting that PASOK had brought "confusion and uncertainty."[20] However, Karamanlis' statement was not broadcast on TV and radio, which were controlled by the governing party, i.e., PASOK.[20]
In the event, PASOK was re-elected with 45.82% of the vote, losing approximately 2.3% from 1981, while New Democracy increased its share of the vote by 4.98% to 40.84%.[21] Papandreou's gamble worked to his benefit because he gained from far-left voting blocks covering the losses from the centrist voters, and appealed to socialist voters who rejected Karamanlis' perceived hindrance of PASOK's policies.[22][23][24]
Papandreou had the upper hand over Mitsotakis in which he argued that a vote for Mitsotakis is a vote for a constitutional anomaly,[25] convincing a significant fraction of Greek voters.[23][25]Richard Clogg argued that the large-scale rally by Mitsotakis on 2 June at Syntagma Square may have panicked communists to vote for PASOK;[26] the communist parties lost a significant share of the vote.
New Democracy leadership speculations and fracture
Despite New Democracy's increased share of the vote, PASOK's 5% lead, combined with concerns over the party’s two consecutive electoral defeats (in 1981 under Georgios Rallis and in 1985 under Mitsotakis), sparked doubts among New Democracy's old guard about Mitsotakis's future as party leader. Facing internal dissent, Mitsotakis resigned in 1985 but later stood unopposed for re-election at the party congress, winning the backing of 82 of New Democracy's 126 deputies, 11 more than in 1984.[30] His former rival for the leadership, Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, abstained from the vote and subsequently left New Democracy to establish a new political party, Democratic Renewal, taking nine MPs with him. Stephanopoulos criticized the ND leadership for its weak campaign performance in 1985 and for appearing to prioritize the interests of employers over those of workers.[30]
Unholy alliance
The dominance of Papandreou in the elections caused frustration in the communist parties, Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and Communist Party of Greece (Interior), who lost significant electoral share.[31] Moreover, there was growing resentment towards PASOK for its authoritarian practices and monopoly of power, while at the same time utilized the Left's ideology and voting power.[32] In the local elections of October 1986, KKE party chose not to support candidates of PASOK in the three major municipalities (Athens, Piraeus, and Thessaloniki), which provided an opportunity for ND to obtain a new power basis to challenge PASOK.[33] PASOK described this unannounced collaboration as "unholy alliance."[34]
The alignment between conservatives and communists against Papandreou strengthened as a series of growing corruption scandals, most notably the Koskotas and the Yugoslav corn affairs, began to engulf Papandreou's second administration. These scandals ultimately culminated in the "katharsis" after the June 1989 elections, when the two groups formed a coalition government that led to the indictment of Papandreou over the Koskotas scandal.[35]
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