Good Government

This is how a government was formed last week in Athens, the city of Pericles.

After Premier Themistocles Sophoulis' death (TIME, July 4), King Paul asked Foreign Minister Constantin ("Dino") Tsaldaris, a Populist (right-winger), to form a new cabinet. In his eagerness, Dino promised portfolios to 27 of his friends. At the last minute, he found there were only 25 ministerial posts to fill. With great presence of mind, Tsaldaris simply created two new cabinet posts--Tourism and Physical Culture.

Tsaldaris' candidate for Minister of Physical Culture declined the post. Then several minor parties proposed another coalition under a mild Byzantine scholar, nonpartisan Deputy Premier Alexander Diomedes. Tsaldaris insisted on an all-Populist cabinet with himself as Premier and for a while it looked as though he would have his way. One evening last week, all the cabinet candidates, immaculate in grey ties and white shirts, were assembled in Tsaldaris' living room, drinking Turkish coffee and waiting for a phone call from the King to summon them to the swearing-in ceremony.

The phone rang; the caller was Sophocles Venizelos, a Liberal who had previously gone along with Tsaldaris. He had changed his mind. The happy faces began to bead with sweat. There was nothing to be done; the candidates went home.

Next day, Tsaldaris drove to the King's summer palace, 16 miles from Athens, and suggested a Tsaldaris-Venizelos coalition--let each be Premier for three months, in rotation. Many things are possible in Greek politics, but not that. The King said no; instead, without telling Tsaldaris, he decided to give the premiership to War Minister Panayotis Kanellopoulos, one of Greece's few first-rate administrators. U.S. officials were delighted with the King's choice.

That evening, without an inkling of the King's intention, Kanellopoulos put on his white tie & tails and went to a going-away party for the air attache at the U.S. embassy. At the embassy's front door, Kanellopoulos all but collided with Michael Ailianos, Populist Minister of Information, who came running out in high agitation. Inside, everyone from U.S. Ambassador Henry F. Grady down started congratulating Kanellopoulos, who finally caught on. Meantime, Sprinter Ailianos, who had also found out about the Kanellopoulos plan at the party, rushed to Tsaldaris to tell him what was going on. Promptly, Tsaldaris rushed to the King. To prevent Kanellopoulos' appointment, Tsaldaris chose the lesser of two evils, agreed to serve as Foreign Minister under nonpartisan Diomedes, who had been scheduled to be his Vice Premier. The King reluctantly approved. This week, Diomedes and his cabinet were sworn in. It was virtually the same as the old cabinet.

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