Signs of a Showdown

The bestseller in Athens last week was, of all things, the French newspaper Le Monde. It was sold out within a few minutes after it appeared on the newsstands, and friends quickly passed around tattered issues to one another. The reason for the newspaper's sudden popularity: it carried a ringing attack on Greece's military rulers by the most popular of conservative Greek politicians. He is Constantine Karamanlis, 60, the former Premier (1955-63) who gave Greece an unparalleled period of political stability and economic growth before a quarrel with Queen Frederika and an election loss to Liberal George Papandreou persuaded him to go into self-imposed exile in Paris.

For the past four years, Karamanlis has lived in Paris in a comfortable Bois de Boulogne duplex on funds supplied largely by wealthy Greek industrialists, but his name and words still have a magic effect in Greece. Bluntly calling the colonels "idiots" and "putschists," he blamed them for the Cyprus debacle and warned that their continued rule could lead to chaos and a rebirth of Communism in a country that "twice almost became the Viet Nam of Europe." He called on the colonels "to recognize their duty" and resign. Said he: "Greeks will not allow the maintenance of dictatorship under whatever form."

Defiant Press. The junta, led by Colonel George Papadopoulos, was so preoccupied with Cyprus that it tried at first to ignore the criticism from Karamanlis. But when the colonels became aware of the furor that his words had caused in Greece, they sent a statement to the Greek press that characterized his actions as ill-timed, irresponsible, and "nationally unacceptable," and compared them with those of the exiled boss of the Greek Communist Party. Until now, that part of the Greek press still operating has obediently followed the junta's orders, but the attack on Karamanlis was simply too much. Two Athens publishers, Nassos Botsis and Panes Athanasiades, declared that they would rather go to prison than print such a charge in their three dailies.

The colonels, already concerned about public reaction to their capitulation over Cyprus, were unwilling to risk a showdown that would exacerbate their strained relations with Greece's conservatives. Rather than arrest the publishers, the junta offered a compromise: if the newspapers would run the regime's attack on Karamanlis on the main news page, they could run Karamanlis' attack on the junta on an inside page. All eight Athens papers agreed, and Greek readers thereupon had the unusual experience of reading the first criticism of the junta since it seized power on April 21.

The King's Move. The junta's backdown set Athens buzzing with speculation. Politicians huddled with generals about plans to put the upstart colonels back in the barracks. Karamanlis let it be known that he would return if the call came from King Constantine. Friends of former Premier Papandreou gave assurance that Karamanlis' old foes would cooperate with the conservatives in a transitional government that would lead Greece back to parliamentary rule. Andreas Papandreou, old George's fiery son, who is under arrest on a charge of conspiring to commit treason, is now willing, according to his American wife Margaret, to go into exile in return for his release. His departure would certainly help to cool the political climate.

The next move is up to the country's young monarch. So far, though disapproving of the junta, King Constantine, 27, has gone along with the coup in hopes of influencing the colonels some day to hand back control to civilians. Does he now feel strong enough to risk his crown by openly defying them? And if he tries to replace them, would the colonels go quietly or fight to retain power? The junta is, after all, tough, dedicated and still convinced that it has acted in the best interests of Greece. The one thing that appears certain is that Greece in coming weeks will be increasingly the site of a major test of wills and wiles.

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