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This article explores the negative attitudes towards the United States that exist in present day Greek society. The anti‐US attitudes in Greece are greater than in other EEC member countries and exist across various social and economic characteristics of the Greek population. Possible reasons for and sources of these attitudes are explored.

It is, of course, Aristotle who pointed out that “Man is by nature a political animal” (quotation taken from Lipset, 1981:vii). One could of course speculate whether he meant only the male half of the human species were political animals. It is, however, the case that men tend to participate more in politics than women. This particular study focuses upon men and women's political participation in Greece, the place many regard as the birthplace of democracy.

Papandreou and the Pan‐Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) are committed to bring about change in Greek society, but they must decide how much change, and how quickly that can be accomplished without hindering the party's chances for electoral victory. Data drawn from two separate surveys covering, respectively, relevance of three types of issues (foreign policy, civil liberties and economic policy) on the voting of Greeks, and Greek attitudes towards EEC membership/unification of Western Europe, suggest that the leftist parties in Greece are supported in large part by those who do not favour strong ties with the West. The influence of the US inside Greece cannot be easily limited, and successful pursuit of an interdependent and multidimensional foreign policy, limiting Greece's dependence on the West (especially the USA) is not easy to achieve. Papandreou faces problems from the right, who do not favour his measures of change, and from the extreme left, who feel he is reneging on promises; he needs to maintain his electoral support while at the same time trying to limit international conflict.