Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on Sunday, 18 October 1981.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p830 PASOK, led by Andreas Papandreou, faced New Democracy, led by Georgios Rallis. Papandreou achieved a landslide victory and PASOK formed the first socialist government in the history of Greece (in 1963 Centrists had formed a government under the leadership of George Papandreou, Andreas' father, but their party, Centre Union, was not a socialist party but a centrist, social-liberal one).
Observers had expected a PASOK victory but were surprised by the size of the victory.
185 of the 300 seats were won by PASOK or the Communist Party: both openly eurosceptic. This was the high point of Greek euroscepticism, coming just months after the country's accession to the European Communities.
Results
By constituency ConstituencyPASOKNDKKEKPKKE-ES%±%±%±%±%± Achaea 55.92 18.66 30.62 9.38 9.19 1.05 1.81New 1.04 0.98 Aetolia-Akarnania 48.33 22.17 39.90 9.34 9.31 1.73 1.07New 0.65 0.60 Argolis 44.53 19.03 46.83 0.82 5.29 1.84 1.79New 0.69 0.30 Arkadia 44.91 23.46 42.90 5.84 7.45 2.42 3.32New 0.77 0.34 Arta 42.41 14.50 46.52 7.20 9.26 2.40 0.72New 0.76 0.43 Athens A 44.44 21.86 34.42 8.41 12.63 1.12 2.12New 3.26 2.74 Athens B 48.73 21.15 26.36 9.78 18.04 1.95 1.51New 2.75 2.43 Attica 49.58 21.51 34.85 10.25 10.73 3.11 1.08New 0.87 0.93 Boeotia 52.86 21.90 35.05 4.35 9.16 1.79 1.09New 1.07 0.64 Cephalonia 42.56 18.51 32.96 6.71 17.32 4.26 0.58New 1.21 0.91 Chalkidiki 45.97 20.66 45.85 6.97 5.50 1.34 0.87New 0.81 0.86 Chania 55.26 31.82 25.11 9.10 11.96 1.29 0.31New 0.80 1.18 Chios 48.97 33.30 42.68 5.08 6.18 0.78 0.52New 1.01 1.13 Corfu 50.78 18.71 34.04 1.40 11.62 1.59 0.30New 1.45 1.42 Corinthia 50.91 21.05 40.31 6.78 4.61 0.73 2.38New 0.76 0.73 Cyclades 47.02 24.10 45.75 9.20 4.56 1.11 1.10New 0.67 1.71 Dodecanese 58.19 30.48 30.29 11.03 4.89 2.17 0.48New 0.80 0.35 Drama 48.47 21.19 43.74 4.08 4.51 0.91 0.88New 0.74 0.77 Elis 52.20 21.20 40.44 5.20 5.71 2.01 0.43New 0.52 0.43 Euboea 55.05 27.37 32.07 10.65 7.50 2.22 1.78New 0.63 0.32 Evros 45.82 24.06 40.85 13.88 5.38 1.68 6.03New 0.73 0.97 Evrytania 53.16 24.72 41.23 5.20 4.23 1.18 0.70New 0.36 0.19 Florina 39.51 23.89 48.69 1.66 6.63 1.83 3.81New 0.63 0.30 Grevena 47.92 29.83 34.17 1.73 12.31 4.26 3.72New 0.96 0.06 Heraklion 65.90 30.54 19.20 5.70 8.46 1.23 0.16New 0.84 1.31 Imathia 50.23 19.61 36.06 7.28 10.21 1.76 1.63New 0.84 1.19 Ioannina 45.81 21.03 39.88 6.38 11.68 3.57 0.76New 1.13 1.38 Karditsa 43.85 17.29 40.97 4.45 12.14 1.18 1.45New 0.75 0.26 Kastoria 39.78 20.29 52.36 8.15 4.18 1.36 1.01New 0.64 0.38 Kavala 48.58 25.28 38.86 11.64 8.81 1.37 1.08New 1.04 2.79 Kilkis 40.66 17.05 41.85 1.13 11.21 1.01 4.43New 0.88 0.79 Kozani 45.09 21.39 44.11 5.71 7.46 1.86 1.44New 0.82 0.95 Laconia 34.32 18.09 53.80 1.20 5.50 1.33 4.77New 0.58 0.30 Larissa 45.06 22.75 36.20 0.70 15.30 0.24 1.45New 1.02 1.29 Lasithi 63.24 37.06 29.25 0.36 5.74 1.55 0.42 0.25 Lefkada 39.86 23.28 37.59 5.70 19.04 0.99 0.42New 2.22 2.30 Lesbos 39.90 19.11 31.39 11.38 26.04 1.67 0.57New 1.43 0.77 Magnesia 46.39 26.85 35.27 7.15 14.48 0.04 1.00New 1.23 2.09 Messenia 42.11 18.74 45.80 1.37 8.20 2.12 2.79New 0.61 0.25 Pella 50.69 19.51 39.42 4.79 6.10 1.54 2.18New 0.62 0.74 Phocis 46.30 22.34 43.23 11.65 6.54 1.64 2.31New 0.64 0.38 Phthiotis 48.34 25.66 39.89 4.08 7.44 1.70 2.95New 0.76 0.35 Pieria 48.06 24.25 40.79 3.25 7.71 1.15 2.19New 0.78 1.12 Piraeus A 48.17 24.30 34.17 9.76 12.20 1.16 1.15New 1.92 2.28 Piraeus B 51.16 24.69 23.09 9.32 21.28 1.94 0.60New 2.09 3.09 Preveza 46.18 11.81 41.13 3.08 10.30 2.85 1.15New 0.91 0.30 Rethymno 51.15 26.87 24.67 4.82 5.58 1.01 0.59 0.27 Rhodope 50.83 34.15 39.86 4.13 4.11 1.62 2.08New 0.52 0.26 Samos 33.79 22.91 41.21 2.18 21.12 3.54 2.50 0.57 Serres 45.30 22.20 44.05 8.50 7.54 0.64 1.29New 0.72 1.10 Thesprotia 55.68 25.13 34.76 0.66 7.27 2.72 0.92New 0.91 0.16 Thessaloniki A 47.63 25.51 32.82 12.98 13.10 1.12 2.05New 2.08 3.43 Thessaloniki B 46.75 19.20 38.56 7.63 10.53 0.52 2.03New 0.83 1.20 Trikala 48.02 25.68 35.04 2.14 13.73 1.63 1.73New 0.85 0.28 Xanthi 34.84 12.39 36.82 7.04 2.78 0.71 8.24New 0.73 0.30 Zakynthos 43.12 22.73 37.09 0.76 15.83 0.04 1.90New 1.40 0.60
Aftermath Papandreou's new government introduced several reforms in the wake of its victory (legalization of civil wedding, new family law, nationalization of certain private companies, etc.).
The main opposition party, New Democracy, faced serious internal conflicts. Georgios Rallis was forced to resign after the defeat, and he was succeeded by Evangelos Averoff, former minister under Karamanlis' governments. In 1984, Averof resigned because of health problems, and Konstantinos Mitsotakis became the new leader of New Democracy. Noteworthy, Mitsotakis and Papandreou were both centrists before 1967 and they belonged to the same party, George Papandreou's Center Union. Nevertheless, they were strong opponents, and they never liked each other. Papandreou was calling Mitsotakis "a defector, an apostate", because in 1965 he defected from the ruling Center Union and participated in a new government pleasing to Constantine II, who had just accepted George Papandreou's resignation after a serious disagreement between the King and the prime minister.
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