Greek legislative election, 1951

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Greek legislative election, 1951
Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg
  1950 9 September 1951 1952  

All 258 seats of the Greek Parliament
130 seats were needed for a majority

 First partySecond party
  Papagos alexandros.jpg PROKOPIOU-PLASTIRAS-9.jpg
Leader Alexandros Papagos Nikolaos Plastiras
Party ES EPEK
Leader since19511949
Last electionNew45 seats, 16.45%
Seats won11474
Seat changeNewIncrease2.svg 29
Popular vote624,316401,379
Percentage36.53%23.49%
SwingNewIncrease2.svg 7.04%

 Third partyFourth party
  Sophoklis Venizelos, 1921.png No image.png
Leader Sofoklis Venizelos Ioannis Passalidis
Party Liberal EDA
Leader since19481951
Last election56 seats, 17.24%New
Seats won5710
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 1New
Popular vote325,390180,640
Percentage19.04%10.57%
SwingIncrease2.svg 1.80%New

Prime Minister before election

Sofoklis Venizelos
Liberal

Elected Prime Minister

Nikolaos Plastiras
EPEK

Coat of Arms of Greece (Monochromatic).svg
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Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 9 September 1951. [1] They resulted in an ambivalent outcome, consisting a narrow and pyrrhic, as proven later, victory for the ruling center-liberal parties of Sophoklis Venizelos and Nikolaos Plastiras.

Greece republic in Southeast Europe

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, self-identified and historically known as Hellas, is a country located in Southern and Southeast Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2016. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki.

Nikolaos Plastiras soldier and Prime Minister of Greece

Nikolaos Plastiras was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he became famous as "The Black Rider" during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922, where he commanded the 5/42 Evzone Regiment. After the Greek defeat in the war, along with other Venizelist officers he launched the 11 September 1922 Revolution that deposed King Constantine I of Greece and his government. The military-led government ruled until January 1924, when power was handed over to an elected National Assembly, which later declared the Second Hellenic Republic. In the interwar period, Plastiras remained a devoted Venizelist and republican. Trying to avert the rise of the royalist People's Party and the restoration of the monarchy, he led two coup attempts in 1933 and 1935, both of which failed, forcing him to exile in France.

Contents

Background

After the Greek elections of 1950, when the divided centrist parties had a clear majority in the Parliament political instability was the main characteristic of the political life in Greece. The subsequent centre-liberal governments of Sophoklis Venizelos, Nikolaos Plastiras and Georgios Papandreou did not manage to ensure and enforce stability. As a result, Nikolaos Plastiras supported a People's Party government, under the terms that the latter would soon conduct elections.

Hellenic Parliament Legislative body of the Greek Republic

The Hellenic Parliament is the parliament of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The Parliament is the supreme democratic institution that represents the citizens through an elected body of Members of Parliament (MPs).

The People's Party was a conservative and pro-monarchist Greek political party founded by Dimitrios Gounaris, the main political rival of Eleftherios Venizelos and his Liberal Party. The party existed from 1920 until 1958.

Outcome

First party in the elections of 1951 was the just-founded Greek Rally of Alexandros Papagos, which swept the traditionally dominant right-wing People's Party. Nevertheless, the two major centrist-liberal parties, the Liberal Party and the National Progressive Center Union, elected more deputies than the conservatives.

Greek Rally was a right-wing political party in Greece.

Alexandros Papagos Greek military leader and politician

Alexandros Papagos was a Greek Army officer who led the Hellenic Army in World War II and the later stages of the Greek Civil War. The only Greek career officer to be raised to the rank of Field Marshal, he became the first Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff from 1950 until his resignation in 1951. He then entered politics, founding the Greek Rally party and becoming the country's Prime Minister after his victory in the 1952 elections. His premiership was defined by several events. The Cold War, and the aftermath of the Greek Civil War; Greece becoming a member of NATO; American military bases were allowed on Greek territory; a powerful and vehemently anti-communist security apparatus was created; and the communist leader Nikos Ploumpidis was executed by firing squad. His tenure also saw the start of the Greek economic miracle, and rising tensions with Britain and Turkey over the Cyprus issue.

The Liberal Party, also the National Progressive Centre Union since 1952, was a major political party in Greece during the early-to-mid 20th century. It was founded in August 1910 by Eleftherios Venizelos and went on to dominate Greek politics for a considerable number of years until its decline following the Second World War. Among its most well-known members, apart from Venizelos, were Alexandros Papanastasiou, Nikolaos Plastiras, Georgios Papandreou and Konstantinos Mitsotakis.

The left-wing EDA, a party believed to have been affiliated with the outlaw during 1950-1974 Communist Party of Greece, made its first appearance in these elections.

United Democratic Left Greek political party (1951–1977)

The United Democratic Left was a political party in Greece, active mostly before the Greek military junta of 1967–74.

Communist Party of Greece political party in Greece

The Communist Party of Greece is a Marxist–Leninist political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece, it is the oldest political party in modern Greek politics. The party played a significant role in the Greek resistance and its membership peaked in the mid-1940s. It was the instigator of the Greek Civil War, but ended on the losing side and was banned until 1974.

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Greek Rally 624,31636.5114New
National Progressive Center Union 401,37923.574+29
Liberal Party 325,39019.057+1
United Democratic Left 180,64010.610New
People's Party 113,8766.72–60
Georgios Papandreou Party 35,8102.10–35
Agricultural and Labour Party 21,0091.21New
Socialist Party of Greece 3,9120.20New
List of Independents 1,5540.100
Communist Archio-Marxist Party of Greece 1,1480.10New
Independents9650.100
Invalid/blank votes8,108
Total1,717,107100258+8
Registered voters/turnout2,224,24677.2
Source: Nohlen & Stöver
Popular vote
ES
36.53%
EPEK
23.49%
KF
19.04%
EDA
10.57%
LK
6.66%
KGP
2.10%
AEK
1.23%
Others
0.38%
Parliament seats
ES
44.19%
EPEK
28.68%
KF
22.09%
EDA
3.88%
LK
0.78%
AEK
0.39%

Aftermath

Since no party or alliance had the absolute majority in the Parliament and Alexandros Papagos refused to participate in a government of national unity, the Liberal Party and the National Progressive Center Union formed a minority government under the leadership of Nikolaos Plastiras, which lasted for about a year, since 1952, when Nikolaos Plastiras submitted his resignation and new legislative elections were proclaimed by the King Paul I.

The National Progressive Center Union was a Greek political party.

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References

  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p830 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7