Supervisors info:
Ευάνθης Χατζηβασιλείου (Καθηγητής της Ιστορίας του Μεταπολεμικού Κόσμου στο Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας της Φιλοσοφικής Σχολής του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών), Ευάγγελος Καραμανωλάκης (Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής Νεότερης Ελληνικής Ιστορίας στο Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας της Φιλοσοφικής Σχολής του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών), Δήμητρα Λαμπροπούλου (Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια Νεότερης Ελληνικής Ιστορίας στο Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας της Φιλοσοφικής Σχολής του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών)
Summary:
The era between 1957-1961 was for the political Centre an intense period of political processes, fermentations, integrations, rifts which finally resulted in the formation of the Centrist Union in 1961. Initially, in 1957 the two main centrist leaders, George. Papandreou and Sophocles Venizelos came to a compromise and unified their parties, the Liberal Party and the Liberal Democratic Union. The enhanced party took part in the election of May of 1958. Despite the fact that the elections system of amplified proportional representation favored the Center, the results were disappointing. The Liberal Party ranked third, below right-wing party ( National Radical Union), and the left-wing party ( United Democratic Left). The electoral defeat caused turmoil in the party and induced breakup. G. Papandreou detached from party and forged another one, with the following designation ( Liberal democratic Center). Another top executive of the party, the member of parliament, Constantine Mitsotakis , departed and created, with other prominent personalities of the urbanism, a new formation, called (New Political Movement) or Team of Ten in 1959. Meanwhile, Sophocles Venizelos in 1960 supported the political movement of a general, George Grivas. Grivas had acquired glory from his anti-colonial action against British rule in Cyprus as the commander of National Organization of Cypriot Fighters. Grivas entitled his new political formation, National Renaissance Movement or National Reconstruction Movement. Τhe venture failed due to the monarchist past of the General as the leader of the Royalist Organization X. Consequently, since the NPM and the NRM didn’t have impact, all the political forces of Center joined in common front, the Centrist Union. This party was a promiscuous alliance, which included both right politicians like Stefanos Stephanopoulos and left as Tsirimokos. Right politicians felt fury for the leader of NRU and prime minister, Constantine Karamanlis. The left had broken bonds with the Greek Communist Party and its political expression, UDL. The Centrist Union found the cohesion which sought from two random events, the elections of violence and fraud in October 1961 and the declaration of the relentless struggle. So, in conclusion, the CU gained potential for governability.
Keywords:
G. Papandreou, S. Venizelos, Liberal Party , Centrist Union, Liberty, To Vima, P. Kokkas, D.Lamprakis, Elections of 1958
