Venicelism

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The venizelism was one of the most important political trends in Greece from the beginning of the 20th century to about 1965. It contained mostly ideas of liberalism and social liberalism and is the political center associate. At the beginning of the 20th century, Venizelism found its most important political representation in the democratic liberal party and thus had a decisive influence on the history of Greece.

Eleftherios Venizelos

definition

A broad political movement is united under the concept of Venizelism, whose main goal is the bourgeois modernization of Greece according to the model of the western liberal democracies , in connection with the realization of the Megali Idea , i.e. the territorial expansion of Greece for the liberation of the Greeks who were then still living in the Ottoman Empire was. The political movement got its name from the politician Eleftherios Venizelos and emerged as the liberal party in Greece from various parliamentary elections in the first half of the 20th century as the strongest political force.

Political goals

Venizelism campaigned for the abolition of the monarchy and the introduction of a presidential republic . In pursuing this goal, which was achieved in 1924, most of the followers of Venizelism (including Venizelos himself) proceeded moderately and worked relatively well with the king even after the re-establishment of the monarchy in 1935. The only phase in which there was massive tension between the royal family and the Venizelists were the years 1915 to 1920 during the First World War , in which the king took a position that was friendly to Germany , while the Venizelists clearly wanted to side with the Entente . The Venizelists prevailed and Greece entered the war on the side of the Entente.

The Venizelists wanted to realize the Megali Idea , i.e. the territorial expansion of Greece for the liberation of the Greeks who were then still living in the Ottoman Empire . The goal of territorial expansion for Greece was largely achieved by 1920, but experienced a major setback after the Liberal Party was defeated in the parliamentary elections in 1920 and Greece was subsequently defeated in the Greco-Turkish War . From 1923 and especially with the conclusion of a Greek-Turkish friendship treaty on October 30, 1930 by Eleftherios Venizelos and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk , Venizelism turned to the establishment of stable and friendly relations with all neighboring countries.

Venicelism advocated Greek entry into the war on the side of the Western Allies during World War I and II .

Another goal was the modernization of the Greek economy within the framework of the capitalist system based on the Western model. The governments of Eleftherios Venizelos used various types of strategies in economic policy.

The Venizelists tried to modernize Greece on an institutional and social level and to adapt it to Western standards.

Venicelism was not only supported by economic liberals, but by a relatively wide-ranging base of political camps and social classes. Venicelism received the most significant support from the bourgeois class and business people, then from the petty bourgeoisie, the landless peasants and, from 1923, from the numerous Greek refugees from Asia Minor .

Political parties

Important representatives

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.ime.gr/chronos/13/gr/domestic_policy/language/index.html
  2. ↑ Thanos Veremis, Great Greeks-Eleftherios Venizelos, editor Skai, Athens 2009, p. 17
  3. ↑ Paschalis M. Kitromilides, Eleftherios Venizelos: The Trials of Statesmanship , Edinburgh University Press 2008, p.285-306
  4. ↑ Βερέμης Θάνος , Μεγάλοι Έλληνες-Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος, εκδόσεις ΣΚΑΪ , Αθήνα 2009, σελ.52-54