Man of Crete

A nimble old man with gentle eyes and one of the keenest brains in Europe set Athenian politicians to squabbling furiously, last week and brought down the Cabinet of Prime Minister Alexander Zaimis. Four years ago the famed old man, Eleutherios Venizelos, surprised Greeks announcing his retirement (TIME, 17, 1924). Followed a recuperative period spent at various European spas. Then smart Parisians were made merry by the apparition of a Venizelos once more sprightly and impeccably dandified. He sipped champagne with a zest smacked of youth. He popped in and out of limousines with ladies. He spent some of the money of his rich new Greek wife. And then, came sudden reaction. The Great Man retired to Crete, the island of his birth. He would, he said, translate and edit the works of Historian Thucydides (died circa 400 B. C.). He would be deeply, profoundly absorbed for a long time, perhaps until Death came. . . . Promptly suspicious Greeks reasoned that so successful a maker of history as Eleutherios Venizelos might soon itch to do more than edit. They remembered that he brought Greece into the War on the side of the Allies, although Greek King Constantine was brother-in-law to All Highest Kaiser Wilhelm. At the Peace Conference it was in large measure due to the peculiar, enticing charm of M. Venizelos that the Allies were persuaded to increase the territory of Greece by 3,200 miles and extend her frontier westward to within 20 miles of Constantinople. Such a man is most potentially dangerous when he seems to be doing nothing of importance. Therefore, few Greeks were really surprised, last week, when Eleutherios Venizelos journeyed from Crete to Athens and announced with quiet firmness: "I am compelled to recall the statement that I had retired to private life. The insidious forces, Anarchists on the one hand and Royalists on the other, threaten the public security. I shall resume my leadership of the Liberal party."

Amid ensuing furor Finance Minister Georges Kafandaris resigned both his portfolio and his leadership of the Liberals, then announced that he had broken with Venizelos and would form a separate party. Amid frenzied political jockeying the Coalition Cabinet of Alexander Zaimis found its majority in the Chamber dispersed and proceeded to resign. As the hubbub increased and one effort after another to form a new coalition failed, Greek news organs quoted the Old Man of Crete as observing serenely: "I shall resume the Prime Ministry."

Soon afterward, however, supple Eleutherios Venizelos slewed his Liberals around to support, for the time being, General John Metaxas, who promptly became Prime Minister, although he and his Royalist supporters are the antithesis of Venizelist republicanism, and seek the restoration of banished King George II of Greece (son-in-law of Marie of Rumania).