The electoral struggle cannot be understood unless it is included in the context of its time. Election results are a response to stakes as they are perceived in the political community at the moment. In politics (and not only) the expected coexists with the random, structural constraints with choice.

The elections on September 22, 1996 were early. This, of course, is not news in itself. Of the 17 electoral contests since 1974, 14 took place before the end of the parliamentary term. What is unusual in this case is not the reason cited by the then Prime Minister Kostas Simitis (naturally, national issues), but the special circumstances under which the specific elections were announced. Who were they?

A few months earlier, in June 1996, Mr. Simitis had been elected chairman of the party at a dramatic PASOK convention, following the sudden death of its former leader, Andreas Papandreou. Six months earlier, on 18.01.1996, Mr. Simitis had been elected Prime Minister by the PASOK parliamentary group, with a relatively small majority, in a political thriller, following the resignation of an ailing Andreas Papandreou. Immediately after taking office, the new prime minister faced the Imian crisis, which brought Greece and Turkey to the brink of war. From January until early elections were called in August 1996, Mr. Simitis was prime minister without a direct popular mandate.

The first half of 1996 and the last two months of 1995 were, from a political point of view, a particularly intense period with elements of Shakespearean drama. I remind you: Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou has been hospitalized since November 1995 in Onassis; the long-term instability of the government had a negative effect both on the internal public life and on the international position of the country; the country was ruled by Deputy Prime Minister Akis Tsokhatzopoulos and the environment of the sycophant sick Prime Minister. Greece gave the impression of a country with flimsy institutions, at the mercy of random events and impersonal parties, and the smell of political rot, a few years after the 1988-89 Koskotas scandal, is again palpable. At some point (01/15/1996), the helpless Andreas Papandreou reluctantly steps down as prime minister. Competition between the leading members of PASOK begins, first for the post of prime minister, and then, after the death of the founder, in June 1996, for the post of president of the party. In both cases, Kostas Simitis emerges victorious, although his victories were not undisputed.

Although the party ship was old, the new captain had a clear course: Europe

In terms of electoral arithmetic, the 1996 elections show the first decline in bipartisanship: the two main parties add up to less than 80%. Both PASOK and ND come out weakened, having experienced, on the one hand, corruption in the government, and on the other, a split each (DIKKI and Political Spring, respectively). However, PASOK, although exhausted by the illness of its founder, retains its vitality. The election of Simitis renewed it, giving it an explicitly reformist political discourse. On the contrary, the uninspired N.D. led by the uninspired Miltiadis Evert, who succeeded Konstantinos Mitsotakis after losing the 1993 election. The left a few years after the collapse of communism and liberal optimism about the “end of history” rather than doing bad. The KKE strengthens its forces a little (compared to 4.54% in 1993), and the Coalition under the leadership of Mr. Nikos Konstantinopoulos significantly increases its percentage and decently passes into Parliament. The newly formed DIKKI turned out to be a firework: if it shone in 1996 (and in the 1999 European elections), then it disappeared. The political spring of Antonis Samaras also remains outside the parliament.

Politically, the 1996 elections were very important. The late decadent premiership of Andreas Papandreou has been replaced by a refreshing modernization project. Kostas Simitis, a politician who radiated honesty, technocratic competence and a distinct political discourse, who forged a consistent reformist, social democratic point of view in the PASOK periphery, will now be at the helm of the country. Although PASOK remained an old party mass, the new captain and his closest associates had a clear plan of action: European rapprochement. However, they did not control their party.

The great achievement of the Simitis government (1996-2000) was Greece’s entry into the Economic and Monetary Union and eventually the Eurozone (2000) and the enormous reform efforts that had to be made to achieve this. This may seem obvious today, but it was not so then. Although the government of Andreas Papandreou signed the application for EMU membership (1994), the party was ambivalent about its implementation. Even such serious politicians as G. Arsenis did not necessarily agree to join the eurozone. While the reformist part of PASOK already under Andreas Papandreou promoted some reforms (eg ASEP, 1994), its ruling part never fought for bringing Greece closer to EU criteria. It took a drive for modernization and the determination of Simitis to turn ambivalence into a desire for convergence. In addition to joining the EBU, the achievements of the Simitis government include changes in the local government (“Kapodistrias”), the (incomplete) Arsenios education reform and the Helsinki Agreement, which decided to start negotiations on Cyprus’ accession to the EU. and the admission of Turkey as a candidate country, subject to an agreement to settle its differences with Greece. The most important failure of the Simitis government was the stock market bubble (1999).

The result of the 1996 elections placed Greece at the center of European integration, contributed to its modernization, normalized its relations with Turkey and helped to mature PASOK. Certainly not pure evil. As the bankruptcy of 2010 showed, the country’s institutional demons were not expelled, ingrained attitudes remained, the political system did not change habits. Modernization did not take root. But let’s be realistic: electoral correlations rarely fundamentally change a country, but they can make it better or worse. The 1996 elections made her clearly better.

What have we seen?

When the Australian Village Roadshow announced the opening of the first multiplex in Athens in 1996, the Greek cinema market must have faltered. Tickets fell year after year, and individual theaters struggled to adapt to technological advances. The first multiplex will open in 1997 in Marusi, offering a completely different cinema experience. This will be the one
Start.

Losses

The summer of 1996 is marked by the deaths of Andreas Papandreou (June 23) and Aliki Vougiouklakis a month later. Farewells are pandemic in nature, crowds of people on the streets, as well as major television events.

Technologies

Theoretically, the Internet has entered the life of the Greeks since 1993, but its penetration is surprisingly slow. In 1995, Focus Bari found that only 1% of residents in major urban centers had access. With an expanded sample at the end of the century, the percentage will not exceed 12% in the country. And it is not going to “take off” before 2005 with the advent of the first ADSL connections.

What do I remember?

On the eve of this first historic debate, the journalists invited to participate, T. Rousopoulos, G. Paputsanis and myself, as well as Petros Efthymiou, who was the moderator, met and discussed whether we should accept the invitation. The rules agreed between the two headquarters stipulated that we should ask without having the right to insist on our question, and the chiefs should answer after 2 minutes without speaking to each other, without even looking at each other. closed corset? We have agreed that we have no right to cancel the postponed premiere of the debate in Greece. The next day, the rules were followed and helped, I think, the disciplined and strict Simitis defeat the violent and unsophisticated Evert. We all said as we left the studio that the context had to change. But politics is afraid of television, especially on the eve of elections.

PAULOS TSIMAS
Journalist

Start

Aris and PAOK may have taught us basketball in the 80s, but it will be Panathinaikos who will win the first Greek Champions Cup on April 11, 1996, beating Barcelona 67–66 in the Final Four and at the same time opening a unique basketball epic with a total collection of 9 cups at the highest collective level (6 for Panathinaikos, 3 for Olympiacos). The Final Four MVP was Dominic Wilkins, who scored 51 points in the final and semi-finals against CSKA.

The 1996 Olympics were psychologically “difficult” for the Greek public, since we lost their organization to Atlanta a few years ago. Greece passionately claimed the so-called “golden” Olympics, just in time for the 100th anniversary of its modern renaissance. However, the Games in Atlanta will turn out to be especially productive for the Greek flowers (4 gold and 4 silver medals) and surprisingly magical: a year later, in September 1997, we will be entrusted with organizing
Games 2004.

Mr. Haridimos Tsoukas is Professor at the University of Cyprus and Research Professor at the University of Warwick.