Charismatic leadership, popular mobilization and constitution making: revisiting constitutional developments in Greece, 1911–15

On the night of 14 August 1909 a ‘putsch’ of the military garrison stationed in Athens, led to some unexpected developments that upended the political landscape in Greece, ultimately resulting in an unconventional revision of the Greek Constitution of 1864. The rebellion of the garrison was peaceful and gradually all institutions gave in to the demands of the military. The military did not formally take over the government but were nevertheless able to impose their agenda, since between August 1909 and January 1910 the Greek Parliament enacted no less than 169 bills, which reflected the demands of the Military League. Yet the interplay between the crown, the traditional political parties and the Military League resulted in deadlock, with none of these actors able to dominate the others and tensions between them running high. Finally, in January 1910, the crown, the Military League and the political parties agreed to revise the Greek Constitution. The founding act of the Greek Constitution of 1911 was initially supposed to be an amendment of the former constitution of 1864. From a formal point of view, however, the amendment rules of the previous constitution were totally ignored. The founding act of the new constitution was thus a complete break from the previous constitutional order, despite being dubbed an ‘amendment’. Such a rupture was made possible thanks to popular mobilization, the elections which profoundly changed the political landscape, and charismatic leadership.