Who we have to thank for our democracy

It is good sometimes to look at our history as a neutral observer and remember what we owe and to whom. On the 50th anniversary of the restoration of democracy, known in Greece as the Metapolitefsi, one leader stands out, high above the rest: Konstantinos Karamanlis.

If we go back and relive what he experienced and managed in the summer of 1974, we will understand how fragile and how dangerous the project of transitioning to democracy was. He himself did not know whether the police officers who guarded him in the early days would arrest him if some shadowy figure gave the order. Marines under the control of a pro-democracy military officer were stationed in the National Garden in case of another coup. Karamanlis handled this transition masterfully. Today, Greece can be proud to have a vibrant democracy that has endured for 50 years, despite the huge economic crisis and the division it went through. This achievement is not to be thrown away when democracy is challenged and threatened, even within Europe.

Karamanlis also chose dialogue with Turkey despite the fact that the wound of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus was still open, and very painful. He did it with realism and a sense of responsibility. He abhorred big-mouthed “patriotic” slogans and destructive ethno-populism. Let’s not forget the tsunami of radicalization, unrestrained demand for rights, and anti-Americanism that he had to deal with and which swelled violently day by day. But he stood up with strength and bravery to say his famous phrase: “We belong to the West.” This required guts because he went against the unimaginably swift current of the times.

Finally, we owe him the most for his most important decision, to anchor Greece in Europe. Karamanlis knew what was coming because he knew the psyche of the Greeks well. He understood that Andreas Papandreou – the leader of PASOK at the time – and what he stood for would dominate, that relations with the West would go through a difficult phase and that the country would possibly enter into dangerous situations. And indeed it happened, several times, and even relatively recently. But because he had the foresight to set Greece on a stable course, it didn’t derail, it didn’t tumble into the abyss.

So, looking back, there is no doubt left to the neutral observer, wherever they belong politically, that Konstantinos Karamanlis was the best and most important prime minister of the period after the restoration of democracy. If, in fact, those who succeeded him at the helm of the country had the same guts to go against the current and govern responsibly and realistically, the country would be in a much better place today.