Eleftherios Venizelos - Legacy

Legacy

One of the main contributions of Venizelos to Greek political life was the creation, in 1910, of the Liberal Party, which contrasted with the Greek parties of that period. Until the early twentieth century, the Greek parties were inspired by the protecting powers (French or English Party for example) or clustered around a political personality, such as Charilaos Trikoupis. The Liberal Party was based around the ideas of Venizelos (and the military coup of Goudi), but it survived its creator. In addition, the birth of a leading party would coincide with the birth of an opposing party. The opposing party was reflected around the personality of the king, but that survived the various abolitions of the monarchy. Venizelism, from its inception, is essentially a liberal Republican movement, which blocks anti-venizelist monarchist and conservative ideologies. These two clashed for staying in power throughout the inter-war period.

The main ideas, adapted from the creator, are: opposition to the monarchy and the defence of the Megali Idea, formation of alliances with western democratic countries, in particular the United Kingdom and France against Germany during First and Second World War, and later on with the United States against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and finally a protectionist economic policy.

Themistoklis Sofoulis is, from the 1920s, the successor of Venizelos to lead the Liberal Party, which survived to policy failures, exile and ultimately death of the historical founder. In 1950, the son of Venizelos, Sophoklis Venizelos, succeeded as head of the Liberal Party at a time when an agreement was formed with the populists (name of the royalist party) against the communists during the civil war. The Center Union (Enosis Kendrou), was founded in 1961 by Georgios Papandreou,became the ideological descendant of the Liberal Party. The Center Union eventually fade in the late 1970s and was replaced by a party further to the left, Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Andreas Papandreou.