Eleutherios Venizelos, Prime Minister since 1910 and head of the Liberal Party, advocated an alliance with the French and British on the premise that the nation would be amply rewarded with new territory for this support. King Constantine, who was German-educated and relied heavily on pro-German military advisers, warmly backed the objectives of the Megali Idea, but demanded certain guarantees in arms, troops, and money from the Allies to ensure national security. The dispute sharpened during 1915 with Venizelos maintaining that the King exceeded his constitutional prerogatives in blocking Greece's entrance into the war.
