GREECE: The Smiling Juggler

When Spyros Markezinis was almost finished writing his bestselling history of modern Greece, he decided to end it in the mid-1960s and leave the last chapter unwritten. After all, he was prone to observe, “this revolution will be judged by the way it ends.” Even though a politician, Markezinis was in no position to predict what course would be taken by the military regime of Dictator George Papadopoulos, which overthrew Greece’s constitutional government in 1967.

Now it appears that Markezinis will play a leading role in that unfinished chapter. The Athens-born lawyer and founder of the Progressive Party, a small right-wing splinter group, was named last week by Papadopoulos to be Greece’s first civilian Premier since the junta seized power. At the same time, Papadopoulos requested the resignation of the 13 military men in his Cabinet and asked Markezinis to form a new civilian Cabinet to be sworn in this week.

While the move stirred hopes that Papadopoulos would eventually make good on his promise to restore parliamentary democracy, the President bluntly dispelled any illusions that he was relinquishing authority now. “Until the election of a Parliament,” he declared in a statement that was boorishly insulting to his new Premier, “the President is, under the constitution, the only source of power. The Premier-designate is accountable and responsible only to the President who makes the final decisions.”

That, of course, will come as no surprise to Greeks. Since pushing through a new constitution last summer, giving himself an eight-year term as President, Papadopoulos has skillfully maneuvered to consolidate his dictatorial powers and ease out his military collaborators. At the same time he has boldly moved to disarm critics who complained about the lack of democracy. Two months ago, he ended martial law, declared an amnesty for political prisoners and announced that parliamentary elections would be held in 1974. Even the lilting, long-banned music of Greece’s much-loved composer, Mikis Theodorakis (currently on a U.S. concert tour), is being brought out of police-state storage.

The move toward liberalization is designed to woo back much needed foreign investment capital and assuage European hostility to Greece’s bid for full membership in the Common Market. With inflation running at 30%, Papadopoulos cannot hope to keep the lid on serious discontent unless there is a turnabout in the economy some time soon. Markezinis could help bring that change about. He is a palatable politician who was judicious enough not to attack the junta. He is also a brilliant lawyer, credited with having engineered Greece’s postwar economic recovery in the 1950s when he served as Minister of Coordination in the government of Field Marshal Papagos.

Still, for all his attractiveness as a caretaker Premier, Markezinis will have no easy task establishing a credible government. He will have to reassure both the resentful military men he is displacing and allay the bitter suspicions of other politicians. Some of them have already denounced his appointment as window dressing. Declares John Zigdis, vocal leader of the Center Union Party, who was jailed for 18 months by Papadopoulos: “Politics in Greece have for the moment lost their grimness represented by police tortures, and have taken on an atmosphere of vaudeville, with the arrival of the smiling juggler Markezinis.” That kind of suspicion has already caused Markezinis difficulties in recruiting members for his Cabinet. Indeed, it has become something of a vogue among former parliamentarians to note casually that they have turned down a Cabinet offer from Markezinis.

In an interview with TIME Correspondent William Marmon last week in his book-lined study in downtown Athens, Markezinis, an ebullient, fast-talking man of 64, acknowledged that Papadopoulos has the final say. But he talked as though he planned to run the government his way. “I don’t fully understand [the other politicians’] reaction,” he said. “The worst political act is abstention. We must be realistic and reality is not always what we want it to be. It is as it is.” His own decision to accept the job, he said, had been governed by “the three Fs”: forget, forgive and free elections.

“The top priority will be free elections. I will do my best to bring them as fast as possible. Greece needs to be governed by the will of its people. We haven’t had parliamentary elections since 1964 and so much has changed in Greece. I am curious to know how the voting patterns will be changed. It is a large error to expect that young voters will vote as their fathers did.” Markezinis added that prior to elections next year he will form a new government party, bringing together a broad spectrum of forces whose aim will be to hold the majority in the Parliament.

In the meantime, Greeks are likely to be barraged by a spate of new cartoons of their Premier, whose short stature and broad forehead have long made him a favorite target of poison pens. “I am very grateful to the cartoonists for giving me all the free publicity over the years,” he jokes. His collection of caricatures of himself numbers over 1,000. Such humor is a refreshing change from the sullen paranoia of the colonels. Markezinis plans another welcome change: frequent press conferences, which he says he will hold twice a month. “When there is no Parliament to talk to,” he quipped to Marmon last week, “the next best thing is to talk to newsmen.”