He is best remembered for introducing the vote of confidence in the Greek constitution, proposing and funding such ambitious and modern projects as the construction of the Corinth Canal, but also eventually leading the country to bankruptcy.

[3] Trikoupis' family had been original supporters of the English Party; that and his reserved nature bestowed on him the nickname "Ο Άγγλος, the Englishman".

[citation needed] In 1865, after he had concluded the negotiations for the cession by United Kingdom to Greece of the Ionian Islands, he returned to Athens and in 1865 he was elected to the Hellenic Parliament, and in the following year was made Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the young age of thirty-four.

Trikoupis wrote that the political instability, which characterized public life was due to the privilege of the Crown, as far as the appointment and ousting of governments was concerned.

In order to prevent this, the writer suggested the restriction of the royal privileges with the introduction of the principle of "declared confidence" (confidence vote) which, as he supported, would bring about the harmonization of the political life via the formation of a basically two-party parliamentary system: "As long as the King offers power [...] to the parliamentary minority, the suitors of the authority will multiply indefinitely.

The dedilomeni principle may have contributed to Greece quickly becoming a two-party state as smaller parties merged in an effort to form majorities.

[6] Initially observed by convention, the dedilomeni has been incorporated into all subsequent Greek constitutions and ushered Greece into modern parliamentary politics.

His foreign policy was to develop the resources of his country so as to create an army and a fleet and thus to give Greece the power to acquire a leading place among the nations of Southeastern Europe.

On March 15, 1882, he became prime minister for the third time (his second period of office, two years earlier, had lasted only for a few months), and at once set about the task of putting Greek finance upon a firmer basis, and of increasing the prosperity of the country by making roads, railways and harbours.

His difficulties, however, were now increased by the large expenditure that had been incurred for military preparations while he had been out of office as the result of the union effected between Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia.

Trikoupis nevertheless believed that he could raise the value of Greek paper currency to par in a short time, and all his calculations were based upon that assumption which he was not able to make happen.

The country's treasury had been depleted by overspending and systemic corruption often caused by political campaigns in which parties promised massive spending programs.

[3] At the general election, four months later, he and his Modernist Party were astoundingly defeated by his main political rival, Theodoros Deligiannis, and Trikoupis did not even manage to win a seat in the parliament.