World Notes Greece

After two inconclusive parliamentary ballots in six days, Greece's Socialist Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou succeeded last week in a bold move that left him at the pinnacle of his power. By mustering 180 votes in Parliament --the absolute minimum necessary--Papandreou saw to it that his candidate, Christos Sartzetakis, 56, was elected President. Sartzetakis replaces conservative Elder Statesman Constantine Caramanlis, 78, a prestigious counterweight to Papandreou who resigned March 10 after the Socialists withdrew support for his candidacy.

Sartzetakis' election created something of a constitutional conundrum. The deciding vote was cast by Yannis Alevras, a member of Papandreou's party, who became acting President once Caramanlis stepped down. The opposition New Democracy Party, which supports Caramanlis and abstained in the vote last week, charged that as acting President, Alevras was not eligible to vote, even though Papandreou had obtained parliamentary permission for him to do so. With no legally prescribed procedure on the books for deciding the question, Sartzetakis, a former Supreme Court Justice, was sworn in late last week; New Democracy members boycotted the ceremony.