Word: papandreou
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Though 75-year-old Middle-Reader George Papandreou won November's Greek elections, his party fell short of a parliamentary majority. A few weeks later, Papandreou survived a vote of confidence, but only with the support of 28 leftist Deputies. No thanks, said the new Premier, abruptly resigning. Despite the urging of King Paul, Papandreou also refused to enter a coalition with the conservatives, whose defeated leader, Constantine Karamanlis, had disgustedly quit politics and retired (temporarily, at least) to Paris...
...Instead, Papandreou demanded new elections, which he figured would result in a sweeping victory over the opposition. Spurred by the crisis over Cyprus, King Paul went along with Papandreou's strategy, which, after four governments in seven months, at least held out the hope of greater political stability. Last week the King appointed a caretaker Cabinet, dissolved Parliament, and scheduled new elections for Feb. 16. Would this bring Karamanlis back from Paris? Word from Athens quotes him as saying: "Greece must undergo a long and acute crisis before the people ask, if ever, for my return...
...powers. In June, when they rejected Karamanlis' advice to call off a scheduled state visit to Britain because of possible leftist demonstrations, he resigned and spent three months in a Swiss villa. Returning to run for reelection, he was narrowly defeated by wily, middle-of-the-road George Papandreou, 75. Karamanlis wanted to quit then, but was dissuaded by his political allies and the King, who convinced him that as leader of His Majesty's loyal opposition he would be democracy's watchdog...
...Karamanlis wanted to be top dog, and he growled at each new move that boosted Papandreou's popularity. The new Premier froze rents, lavishly promised all Greeks a free education, declared a moratorium on farmers' debts, offered wage boosts to just about everybody. He gave up the Premier's limousine ("We can build four village schools with the money"), opened his office once a week to petitioners who swamped him with gripes, job requests, even demands to speed up their divorces. Though antiCommunist, Papandreou also managed to please leftists. He promised to free most...
Triumphal Return? Though some economists hopefully predicted that Papandreou's spending spree will be covered by rising national income, Greek businessmen were uneasy. When King Paul, siding with the new Premier, agreed to postpone a parliamentary vote of confidence, Karamanlis fumed; he charged that in delaying the early test of strength, the King was submitting to "blackmail" by Papandreou, who implicitly threatened that his defeat might cause political disorder and help the left...