4th of August Party

The 4th of August Party (Greek: Κόμμα 4ης Αυγούστου, Komma 4is Avgoustou, Κ4Α) was a radical Greek Metaxist political party, founded in July 1965 by a group of young nationalists and led by Konstantinos Plevris. It was named after and inspired by the 4th of August Regime of Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas.

The 4th of August Party emerged during the postwar period and belonged to the revolutionary current of nationalist thinking of that time that opposed both major forces of the Cold War and sought a “third path” beyond capitalism and communism. The political party was made up of members that belonged to, and have been considered to represent, the radical nationalist movement, such as Konstantinos Plevris and Dimitrios Dimopoulos.

The party was described as being made up of idealistic youths that “sought a truly revolutionary proposal of life and believed in higher values and ideas, having lived through the degeneracy and counter-culture of Western capitalism, while recognizing the tyranny and ideological bankruptcy of communism”. In addition to opposing communism and capitalism, the party also rejected liberal democracy and parliamentarianism, which were deemed as unstable and degenerate political systems.

Instead, the 4th of August Party advocated and worked toward the formation of a New National State. The form this new state would take was declared by the party’s emblem: a double-headed eagle resting above a meander. The double-headed eagle symbolized the Eastern Roman Empire while the meander symbolized ancient Greece as well as the synthesis of thought and action. The 4th of August Party had inherited from its namesake, the 4th of August regime of Ioannis Metaxas, the task of furthering the ideal of the Third Hellenic Civilization: a new state which would draw inspiration from the very best elements of classical and medieval Hellenism and, in the process, create a new Greek epoch.

Internally, the 4th of August Party was structured on a military model and members were required to abide by a strict code of conduct in public as well as in their private lives. Since all supporters and sympathizers of the party could not be expected to follow the same strict discipline of full members, the party created subsidiary organizations to facilitate these individuals. However, members of the party's youth movement were expected to abide by the party’s code of conduct, earning them a reputation for “military discipline”.

The origins of the 4th of August Party trace back to the late 1950s student nationalist movement. The close interaction of various groups possessing both a national and social character, such as Auspicious Young People (Greek: Ελπιδοφόροι Νέοι) and Neo-Hellenic Movement (Greek: Νεοελληνικόν Κίνημα), brought together individuals who would play a major role in the formation and ideology of the 4th of August Party. In this way, the political circle of Konstantinos Plevris, Spyros Stavropoulos, and Fanariotis was introduced to the circle of Dimitrios Dimopoulos and Passadelis and the two united their forces in a joint effort. In the Spring of 1964 in a restaurant in Fokionos Negri the decision was made to create a broad nationalist front under the name of the "4th of August Party". In July 1965 the 4th of August Party was formally created. Konstantinos Plevris was chosen as its leader while, among others, Dimopoulos, Andreas Dendrinos, Spyridon Manolopoulos, N. Vasilopoulos, and Telemachos Kombis held administrative positions.

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