781.00/1–451: Despatch
The Minister in Greece ( Yost ) to the Department of State
No. 1008
Subject: Current Status of the “Papagos Solution”
Enclosed is the record of a recent conversation3 between officer of this Embassy and Spyros Markezinis, leader of the New Party and friend and counselor of Marshal Papagos.
Much of Markezinis’ conversation upon this occasion consisted merely of a reiteration of his views on the Papagos solution, along the lines reported in previous telegrams and despatches from this Embassy. It appears from this account and from certain remarks of Papagos himself that the Marshal continues to be averse to becoming Prime Minister except as the result of elections in which he would head a ticket composed of candidates of his own choosing. Some consideration is apparently being given to bringing Papagos and Plastiras together in the political field, and preliminary overtures to this end have been made by some members of EPEK and other left-center elements. The Court is reported to continue to look with disfavor upon the Markezinis version of the Papagos solution and is said to hope that election results satisfactory to the Palace can be achieved in six months time through the assistance of Ellinkon Phos, an organization formed to promote the spiritual and moral uplift of the nation but rapidly, and perhaps inevitably, becoming involved in politics.
The difficult economic situation, the danger from abroad and the uncertainty of the parliamentary majority of the present Government [Page 446] have brought again to the fore talk of the necessity for a strong government with the inevitable concomittant of renewed speculation concerning the possible elevation to political power of Marshal Papagos.
As previously reported, the Markezinis version of the Papagos solution has the support of some strong Liberal elements and is not based entirely upon rightists and life-long Royalists. Backing from both these politically diverse forces, however, comes preponderantly from the vested interests, the leaders in industry, finance and business. Markezinis would no doubt assert that the force of this criticism would be largely invalidated by the program of social justice and equality of sacrifice that Papagos would proclaim and follow, by the efforts being made to secure the support of some of the Socialists, and that individual candidates for the Papagos ticket would be drawn from all groups and classes. It is also possible that the tentative overtures for a Papagos–Plastiras combine might result in some agreement that would broaden the economic base of the Papagos front as envisaged by Markezinis, although certainly some of the leading lights of EPEK, such as Tsouderos and Merkouris, are no less representatives of the over privileged Athenians than are many politicians belonging to parties much further to the Right on political matters.
The Embassy is continuing to follow the situation closely with regard to political moves concerning Marshal Papagos and will attempt to keep the Department fully informed on this potentially very important matter.4
- Not printed.↩
- In despatch 1075 from Athens, January 11, Ambassador Peurifoy enclosed a memorandum of conversation between Yost and Papagos on January 10 in which Papagos, under “discreet” probing, remarked, inter alia, that the current government did not enjoy the confidence of the Greek people and that Greece needed a government which enjoyed a solid parliamentary majority and would have the strength and courage to adopt socially progressive measures “which could be described as ‘socialist’.” (781.00/1–1151)↩