Word: papandreou
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...caused concern in Western capitals with his spectacular victory and his nationalistic platform was Andreas Papandreou, 62, who, ironically enough, is a former U.S. citizen. Leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), Papandreou moved into the cavernous, wood-paneled Prime Minister's office occupied by his more moderate father George, who headed three governments between 1944 and 1965. With 48.6% of the vote to New Democracy's 35.9%, PASOK won a majority of 172 seats in the 300-member parliament. In a nearly symmetrical reversal of fortunes, New Democracy, led by outgoing Prime Minister George Rallis, fell from...
That was precisely what worried many Americans and Western Europeans. Though Papandreou softened some of his more radical proposals in the past year, he has spoken out against the presence of four U.S. military bases in Greece, questioned Greek membership in NATO and opposed his country's membership in the ten-nation European Community. For those who hope Papandreou's actions in office will be more cautious than his campaign rhetoric, his election-night speech contained an encouraging message. Said he: "We will not lead the country into any adventure...
...Papandreou's first interview after being sworn in confirmed that he might not be the firebrand in office that he was in opposition (see box). Rather than close down U.S. bases immediately, he appears content to open negotiations on the question. Instead of withdrawing from NATO, he now says, Greece will remain a member until it can find a better way to meet its defense needs. And the referendum on European Community membership may never take place, since it would have to be called by President Constantine Caramanlis, who is fervently pro-European. In Brussels, European Community officials professed...
...Western Europe. Papandreou's victory was immediately compared with that of his fellow socialist, François Mitterrand, who was elected President of France five months ago after 23 years of conservative rule. Many French analysts sympathetic to Mitterrand saw the Greek socialists' victory as an affirmation that a fragile democracy had come of age. Pronounced the leftist daily Le Monde: "It is part of a democratic switch from one political party to another that has been all but absent in modern Greek politics...
...avoid being accused of meddling in Greece's internal politics, the U.S. has remained studiously neutral. But NATO'S commanders are not so circumspect. Says an officer assigned to the Southern Command: "If Papandreou does what he's said he's going to do, it could be a considerable threat." Supporters of the present government are hoping that the forceful Papandreou may have peaked too soon...