1958 Greek legislative election explained

Country:Kingdom of Greece
Type:parliamentary
Previous Election:1956 Greek legislative election
Previous Year:1956
Next Election:1961 Greek legislative election
Next Year:1961
Seats For Election:All 300 seats in the Hellenic Parliament
Majority Seats:151
Election Date:11 May 1958
Image1:KaramanlisNatsinasAgora crop.jpg
Leader1:Konstantinos Karamanlis
Party1:National Radical Union
Seats1:171
Popular Vote1:1,583,885
Percentage1:41.16%
Leader2:Ioannis Passalidis
Party2:United Democratic Left
Seats2:79
Popular Vote2:939,902
Percentage2:24.43%
Image3:Γεώργιος Α. Παπανδρέου 1.jpg
Leader3:Georgios Papandreou
Party3:Liberal Party (Greece)
Seats3:36
Popular Vote3:795,445
Percentage3:20.67%
Prime Minister
Posttitle:Prime Minister after election
Before Election:Konstantinos Karamanlis
Before Party:National Radical Union
After Election:Konstantinos Karamanlis
After Party:National Radical Union

Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 11 May 1958.[1] The result was a second consecutive victory for Konstantinos Karamanlis and his National Radical Union, which won 171 of the 300 seats in Parliament.

Background

Karamanlis decided to call for early elections, after some of the most prominent members of the National Radical Union defected from the party, including George Rallis and . Although Karamanlis could have a parliamentary majority, he preferred to go for elections, in order to achieve a renewed public support.

The pretext of the defection was a new electoral law that Karamanlis passed. Rallis was opposed to the law, thinking that it is going to be extremely favorable for EDA, a party believed to be linked with the then-banned Communist Party of Greece.

The outcome of the results proved that Rallis' "fears" were justified. EDA became the second biggest party, outvoting a divided centre.

Just after the elections Karamanlis formed a new government, taking back in his party the defectors.

Aftermath

The unexpected rise of EDA, barely nine years after the end of the Greek Civil War, sent alarms through the right-wing establishment, and measures were taken to combat the emergent "communist threat", including the division of the large urban electoral districts of Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki so that the left-voting areas would be separated (forming the Athens B, Piraeus B, etc. constituencies), as well as the establishment of a dedicated domestic security agency, the General Directorate of National Security.

Notes and References

  1. [Dieter Nohlen]