Konstantinos Karamanlis

His supporters came to laud him as the charismatic "Ethnarches" (National Leader). Some of his left-wing opponents have accused him of condoning rightist "para-statal" groups, whose members undertook "Via kai Notheia" (Violence and Corruption), i.e., fraud during the electoral contests between ERE and Papandreou's "Center Union" party, and were responsible for the assassination of Gregoris Lambrakis. Some of Karmanlis's conservative opponents have criticized his socialist economic policies during the 1970s, which included the nationalization of Olympic Airways and Emporiki Bank and the creation of a large public sector. Karamanlis has also been criticized by Ange S. Vlachos for indecisiveness in his management of the Cyprus crisis in 1974 even though it is widely acknowledged that he skillfully avoided an all out war with Turkey during that time.