The Greek Experience

Abstract

The October 1981 Greek election which climaxed the Panhellenic Socialist Movement's 'short march to power' was justifiably greeted with widespread enthusiasm by the left in the West. PASOK's victory not only terminated over half a century of right-wing rule (including a brutal seven year dictatorship) but also followed the socialist victory in France in the midst of the Reagan-Thatcher-Kohl reaction, thus disproving at least momentarily the mythology of a right-wing resurgence. Nor did this pleasant Greek surprise end with one term in power. In June 1985 PASOK won another decisive victory, and the renewal of its mandate seems to show that socialist governments need not be a mere interlude to rightwing rule in this era of chronic capitalist crisis. Now that the Greek Socialists are comfortably into their second term (with even the opposition admitting that they are there to stay), it is time to examine the record of PASOK in office. This is what this short article intends to do. After some brief reference to the period of PASOK's 'short march to power', we will examine the economic, labour and social policies of Papandreou's Government; its foreign policy; the changes it brought about in the hydrocephalous Greek state apparatus; and finally, the nature of the opposition