The economic crisis that hit the world economy with an unprecedented vehemence in the early 1930s exacerbated the internal political problems of the country. However, political deficiencies and managerial incapacity - especially within the People's Party - in the years 1933-35 allowed the application of anti-parliamentary practices (rigged plebiscite on restoration, etc.). The restoration of the exiled King George II was the first step on the road to the destabilization of the parliamentary system.
But the erosion of democratic institutions and the political system that had characterized the first half of the 1930s was to become complete disruption under Ioannis Metaxas (4 August 1936) who claimed power, as he put it, "to avoid the imminent Spanish tragedy".
The crisis of constitutional liberalism would be succedeed by the 'New State', an authoritarian regime with Fascist overtones which demonstrated clear similarities to its European models (German National Socialism, Italian Fascism), but also inconsistencies between its 'rhetoric' and its strategic choices and pursuits.