#venizelos

November 14 1920, Athens–Venizelos, Prime Minister of a united Greece since the Allied-enforced end of the National Schism in 1917, hoped that Greece’s gains from the war would win his party a continued majority at the polls in November 1920, the first non-boycotted elections since June 1915.  These aims were complicated, however, by the sudden death of King Alexander to a monkey bite in October and the prospect of a return of his father, the exiled King Constantine.  The elections then became not only a referendum on Venizelos, the peace terms, and the continued Greek involvement in Turkey, but the question of the succession and of the monarchy as a whole.

The elections were held on November 14, and the results were clear by the next day.  Venizelos’ Liberal Party had been dealt an overwhelming defeat, winning only 110 seats out of the 370 in the Greek parliament, with all other parties decidedly opposed to him  Venizelos even lost his own seat (though he was standing in Piraeus, not in his home of Crete).  All of this was despite the fact that the Liberal Party won a majority of votes cast–presumably it was overwhelmingly popular in the areas that had been added to Greece in the last ten years, but narrowly lost most seats in the Greek heartland.

King Constantine would return as King in December after a he overwhelmingly won a (possibly-rigged) referendum.  The Allies, especially the French, who had arranged for his ouster in 1917, largely stopped supporting Greece.  Despite the anti-Venizelists’ opposition to continued military involvement in Turkey, the new government found it impossible to cleanly withdraw, and continued their efforts there for nearly two more years, albeit without Allied support.

King Alexander of Greece (1893-1920, r. 1917-1920)

October 25 1920, Tatoi–In 1917, Allied pressure had forced Greek King Constantine to abdicate and leave the country, along with his eldest son, George, as they were perceived as being too pro-German.  Constantine’s second son, Alexander, took the throne, and Greece joined the war on the Allied side soon thereafter.  Greece was richly rewarded for its participation, receiving Bulgaria’s southern coast (the port of Dedeagach being renamed Alexandropouli for the King), European Turkey outside of Constantinople, the islands of Imbros and Tenedos, and effective control of Smyrna and its environs.  Prime Minister Venizelos called for new elections for early November, hoping the gains from Sèvres would lead to an increased majority for his party in the first elections since 1915.

On October 2, Alexander was walking with his dog, Fritz, a German Shepherd, when the dog became embroiled in a fight with a Barbary ape kept on the grounds of the royal estate.  Alexander attempted to separate the two, but was bitten by a second monkey in multiple places.  These wounds would soon become infected, and on October 25, Alexander died of sepsis at the age of 27.

The unexpected death of the young king triggered a succession crisis.  Constantine wanted to return to the throne, but Venizelos was understandably opposed to both Constantine and George.  The throne was instead offered to Alexander’s younger brother, Paul, but he refused, saying the exclusion of his father and brother from the succession was illegal.  Venizelos considered inviting a foreign noble from a different house; foreign press speculated that the candidates might include Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma (who had played a role in Austrian peace overtures in 1917) and King George V’s uncle, Prince Arthur.  Another possible candidate existed, though it is unclear who was aware of it at the time; King Alexander’s wife was four months pregnant, and the unborn child could succeed their father posthumously.  Alternatively, the monarchy could be abolished entirely.

The upcoming elections, though pushed back by a week, suddenly became a referendum on the future of the monarchy.  The divisions of the time of the National Schism had never healed—Venizelos was nearly assassinated at the Gare de Lyon while returning from the signing of the Treaty of Sèvres—and they flared up dramatically with the prospect of Constantine’s return.