page_title: 4th of August Regime
section_title: Economic policy
hierarchical_section_title: 4th of August Regime / Greek totalitarianism / Economic policy
caption_attribution_description: English: Greek propaganda poster of Ioannis Metaxas' dictatorship, c. 1936. Ελληνικά: Προπαγανδιστική αφίσα της δικτατορίας του Ιωάννη Μεταξά, π. 1936.
context_page_description: The 4th of August Regime, commonly also known as the Metaxas regime, was a totalitarian regime under the leadership of General Ioannis Metaxas that ruled the Kingdom of Greece from 1936 to 1941. On 4 August 1936, Metaxas, with the support of King George II, suspended the Greek parliament and went on to preside over a conservative, staunchly anti-communist government. The regime took inspiration in its symbolism and rhetoric from Fascist Italy, but retained close links to Britain and the French Third Republic, rather than the Axis powers. Lacking a popular base, after Metaxas' death in January 1941 the regime hinged entirely on the King. Although Greece was occupied following the German invasion of Greece in April 1941 and the Greek government was forced into exile in the British-controlled Kingdom of Egypt, several prominent figures and features of the regime, notably the notorious security chief Konstantinos Maniadakis, survived for several months in cabinet until the King was forced to dismiss them in a compromise with the representatives of the old democratic political establishment.
context_section_description: One of the 4th of August government's main objectives was the repudiation of the old capitalist system and its replacement with a corporatist economic system in order to promote national and social solidarity. This idea "harmonized perfectly with Metaxas' convictions on social and national solidarity as well as his rejection of individualism and class struggle". The plan for the creation of a corporatist state was manifest in the early days of the regime by public declarations by Metaxas and by government ministers.
  To this end, Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Konstantinos Zavitsianos "published details about a horizontal (according to branches of production), not vertical (according to social class), syndicalist organization" of the state. However, due to the external crisis with Italy, the plan had to be temporarily postponed with the result that it never fully materialized.
  Metaxas' government, initially unpopular, also gained popularity through an elaborate program to socialize the Greek economy, including:
  Unemployment insurance.
  Μaternity leave.
  A five-day, 40-hour workweek.
  Guaranteed two-week vacations with pay (or two weeks' double pay in place of vacation).
  Stricter work safety standards.
  Many elements of this program persist in Greek economic policy. Metaxas' regime founded the Workers' Center (Εργατικό Κέντρο), which was established to look after workers' housing and recreation, among other things.
  The 4th of August regime initially stabilized the drachma, which had been suffering from high inflation. Exploiting the newfound solidity of the currency, Metaxas' government embarked on large public works programs (such as the Ellinikon International Airport), including land drainage, construction of railways, road improvements, and modernization of the telecommunications infrastructure.
  Metaxas' economic program met with initial success, with a marked rise in per capita income and temporary decline in unemployment in Greece between 1936 and 1938 (unemployment skyrocketed after 1938). Capitalizing on this success, the government instituted debt relief for farmers and instituted price floors on some agricultural goods to redistribute wealth to the countryside.
  Also, on the legislation sector the Greek civil code, was finally completed by a jurist commission; a plan pending since the years of Otto of Greece.
caption: Poster of the Metaxas regime and the General Confederation of Greek Workers promoting the Social Insurance Institute (IKA)
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