As the latest showdown between two of Greece’s best-known political dynasties gets underway, voters are faced with a decision that involves old alliances and new realities. In the heady countdown to the March 7 elections , two things have become increasingly clear: firstly, the contest will be close. Secondly, the ways, in which conservative Nea Demokratia’s (ND) opposition leader Costas Karamanlis and ruling PASOK’s saving grace George Papandreou have fashioned their electoral platforms, indicate that Greece is standing at the threshold of major change.
Regarding the neck-to-neck nature of the electoral countdown, it suffices to note that ND, who had been sitting comfortably on a 6-8 percentage point lead in the polls over the last several months, will have to rise to PASOK’s challenge, now that two January polls designate that the gap between the two parties has narrowed to a mere 2.5 percentage points, triggered by the embattled Prime Mister Costas Simitis’ timely decision to hand over party control to Papandreou.
Yet, the shift in the political style preached by the two main candidates signals an arguably even more interesting twist in the pre-election climate. For though both leaders are descendants of momentous political legacies, their departure from traditional polemics suggests that a long-standing dynastic rivalry has taken on striking new dimensions. A change observed, despite the fact that, in the ensuing race, names alone could prove enough to galvanize passionate political sentiment, since the Papandreou and Karamanlis families have emerged as two of the country’s dominant political players over the last century.
All in the family
The Papandreou legacy harkens back to the current Papandreou’s grandfather also named George . A life-long opponent of the Greek monarchy, the elder Papandreou, spent his early political career as the right-hand-man of liberal leader Eleftherios Venizelos and later joined the Greek anti-Nazi resistance. In 1944 he became head of the government-in-exile, known as the Government of National Unity, and following liberation, he was assigned to lead the country in October 1944, only to be ousted a couple of months later as the country plunged into civil war .
It was in the ‘50s, during the country’s struggle for stability, that the Karamanlis family made its first decisive mark on the political scene: in 1955, with Prime Minister Alexandros Papagos on his deathbed, the King appointed Constantine Karamanlis , the uncle of today’s opposition leader, as his successor. Karamanlis consolidated his power, winning the elections in 1956, 1958, and 1961. The 1961 victory , however, was marred by widespread allegations of tampering, corruption, intimidation and violence.
The shady nature of the 1961 election set the stage for the first duel between Karamanlis and Papandreou. Wielding accusations of electoral fraud against Karamanlis, Papandreou exploded back into public view, rallying many voters behind his "relentless struggle" for fair elections. With allegations of fraud eroding his popularity, Karamanlis, further burdened by an unexpected clash with the royal family, left the country in 1963, going into self-imposed exile in Paris. Papandreou went on to win elections in 1963 and 1964. But in 1965 he too suffered the wrath of the royal family and was expelled from power.He died three years later while still under house detention.
The second chapter of the Papandreou-Karamanlis saga unfolded in the political vacuum that resulted after the demise of the dictatorship in 1974. After 13 years in exile, Karamanlis was triumphantly called back to Greece, resurrecting his political career through the formation of the Nea Democratia (New Democracy) party. No sooner had Karamanlis established himself as the post-junta favourite, than Papandreou’s son and heir-apparent, Andreas Papandreou, burst into politics to stand up against his father’s political adversary.
An intensely charismatic but also polarising figure, Papandreou steadily gained popularity amongst the masses, and in 1981, the populist firebrand won a landslide victory, ushering in the era of PASOK’s dominance. Ironically, twice during his 11 years as prime minister, Papandreou was forced to become quasi-bedfellows with Karamanlis, who held the Greek presidential post from 1980 to 1985 and from 1990 to 1995.
Enter a new generation
In a country where old men tend to hang on to power – Constantine Karamanlis left office at the ripe old age of 88 and Andreas Papandreou spent his final days ruling from an intensive care ward – this year’s candidates are surprisingly young. Karamanlis is just 47 and Papandreou is 5 years his senior. Moreover, these latest scions of Greece’s political dynasties are striving to make it clear that this is not simply a case of old wine in new bottles. And indeed, in both style and substance, Karamanlis and Papandreou’s tactics signal a departure from the mudslinging that has characterized Greek politics since the restoration of democracy.
For instance, rather than lashing out against PASOK’s unprecedented change in leadership , Karamanlis has chosen to tread carefully. While the opposition leader made it clear that he regards the opportunist swap as “a last-ditch communications spectacle without any substance,” he has stopped short of attacking Papandreou directly.
For his part, Papandreou has also endeavoured to go beyond the traditional pre-election rabble-rousing by agreeing to face Karamanlis in the sober arena of televised debate. In an interview broadcast on Greek National Radio on January 9th, Papandreou asserted that the time has come to discuss concrete issues “without any kind of fanaticism, exclusion, or pressure.” Furthermore, both sides have vowed that Olympic preparations will not be subjected to the maelstrom of political competition.
In their private lives, too, the two candidates have opted for a low profile over the emulation of their comparatively ostentatious forefathers. Unlike his boisterous predecessor, Papandreou is known for his mild-mannered, diplomatic and casual demeanour. Much to his advantage, Papandreou junior has also managed to avoid the allegations of corruption that have tarnished some of his PASOK colleagues.
Likewise, the Economist describes Karamanlis as an “easy-going, affable figure, with a love of football and a taste for worry-beads that will put ordinary voters at ease.” A further boost to Karamanlis’ ‘nice guy’ image came in 1998, one year after he was elected leader of ND, when his high-profile marriage to demure blonde Natassa Pazaiti won him kudos for being a “family man”. The birth of the couple’s twins in 2003 had a similar effect. Papandreou has been married since 1987 to aeronautical engineer Ada Papapanou; they have a 14-year old daughter. Papandreou also has a son of 22 from his first marriage.
