The holding of general elections at regular intervals, universal suffrage, and parliamentary government were fundamental characteristics of modern Greek constitutionalism as early as the last third of the nineteenth century. These characteristics are so deeply ingrained in the country’s cultural traditions that they form an integral part of its identity. In that sense, Greek constitutionalism lies behind the failure of the extreme political forces to attract mass support throughout the twentieth century, as was and continues to be the case in many other European countries. At the same time, though, by being deeply divisive and conflictual, Greek constitutionalism has been obstructing real reforms in state organization and action, in crucial fields which include, among other sectors, public administration, education, social security, and health care. Moreover, through disastrous government spending, with the sole aim of winning the next election, extreme party polarization led to an unprecedented debt crisis that brought the country to the verge of bankruptcy in 2010. That being said, the fundamental difficulty in carrying out long-awaited reforms lies in overcoming conflictual partisanship, without, however, killing the zest that still attracts large portions of the electorate to mainstream politics.