The International Provocateur

While taking his annual fall tour of Greece and the Balkans this month, New York Times Columnist Cyrus L. Sulzberger was making the news as well as reporting it. After a brief stop in Athens, he wrote that Greece was once again "polarizing dangerously to ward left and right." King Constantine, Sulzberger speculated, might "even temporarily suspend some of the Constitution" to meet the threat presented by "former Premier George Papandreou, the country's most popular demagogue, and his son Andreas, an engaging but arrogantly ambitious power-seeker, increasingly linked to the far-out left."

Had a Greek journalist written the same words, few people would have paid any attention. But Sulzberger not only enjoys special prestige as an out sider; he has reported knowledgeably on Greek politics since World War II, and has access to good sources, including the King. The left was roused to a fury it has not shown since the summer rioting of 1965. "Any persons who may contemplate setting up a dictatorship here," bellowed the elder Papandreou, "should know that the people, the army and even the rocks in the streets will rise to crush their heads." Editorialized the pro-Communist newspaper Avgi:

"Sulzberger, disguised as a distinguished journalist, tries to conceal his identity as an international provocateur." And even the conservative daily Kathimerini suggested that the King should refrain from talking to" foreign journalists. Sulzberger, however, was not fazed: "I'm never really too surprised at anything that happens in Greece," he said. "They are an imaginative people and take their politics seriously."

A Cool Chat. Next stop was Bucharest. There, the columnist requested some time with Rumania's new boss, Nicolae Ceausescu, who had previously refused to talk to any non-Communist newsman. Within three days, Sulzberger got his interview -- a record time for obtaining almost anything in Rumania. Part of the 45-minute chat was even televised. But Sulzberger did not let the privilege intimidate him. In his column Ceausescu got lower marks than he has received from most Western commentators. While granting that the "unabashed nationalist" has shown considerable ingenuity in fending off the Russians, Sulzberger doubted that he will prove to be much of an "ideological innovator," or that he will "deliberately and consciously lead Rumania to Westernization, de-Communization or neutralization." It was a "fairly cool" chat, the columnist remarked afterward. "He was very critical of our Viet Nam policy, and of course I couldn't let him get away with it."

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