Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XVI, Eastern Europe; Cyprus; Greece; Turkey

342. Memorandum for Director of Central Intelligence McCone⁰

Washington, February 8, 1963.

SUBJECT

• Comments of Queen Frederika on DeGaulle, the British, Greek Political Leaders and the Political Situation in Greece

On 31 January 1963, Queen Frederika of Greece made the following comments [less than 1 line of source text not declassified]

1. With regard to Greek reaction to DeGaulle, Queen Frederika stated that serious damage to NATO and the Common Market would be unfortunate but indicated a thinly-veiled admiration for DeGaulle’s attitude toward the British by saying that “it is high time someone told them they cannot always have their cake and eat it.” (Comment: Her deep-seated animosity toward the British is likely to affect her judgment on any issue where British interests are concerned.)

2. Queen Frederika feels that Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis is a man of great ability and is completely loyal to the Crown, but he is becoming increasingly hard to get along with and occasionally shows bad judgment. As an example, she mentioned his ineffectiveness in protecting the Crown from public criticism, particularly where Royal financial matters were concerned such as the dowry for Princess Sophia’s marriage. Thus, the time may be approaching when elections and a new government are in order. According to the Queen, the best solution would be a government headed by some National Radical Union (ERE) figure other than Karamanlis, such as Minister of Interior Georgios Rallis or Minister of Finance Spyridon Theotokis, and including moderate elements attracted from the Center Union (EK).

3. The Queen believes that the future election should be held under a reinforced proportional system as it was in 1961. (Comment: Sofoklis Venizelos, EK Parliamentary Deputy, recently informed [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] that King Paul had advocated to him the related party system. It is possible that the Queen’s comment reflects recognition by the Palace that the Center will not accept the related party system and that the best alternative is the reinforced proportional system.)

4. In discussing Venizelos and EK leader Georgios Papandreou, the Queen feels that the former is exploiting Papandreou’s extremism in order to put Papandreou out on a limb from which he will eventually tumble, leaving Venizelos as the dominant figure in the Center. She considers Papandreou a fanatic and irresponsible and Venizelos a slippery opportunist who is trying to ingratiate himself with the King and Queen in pursuit of a scheme to isolate and discredit Papandreou. She apparently also does not have a high regard for Progressive Party leader Spyros Markezinis.

5. Although claiming not to fear grave internal political crisis in Greece, she emphatically stated that if this ever happens, all United States support must be enlisted in behalf of the Crown since “otherwise there will be complete chaos.” (Comment: She is constantly haunted by vague fears of political upheaval which might destroy the Monarchy, or perhaps more likely, a series of political events which might eventually force the abdication of the sovereign. She has little confidence in the basic stability of the government and believes that only constant vigilance of the Crown can protect Greek politicians from their own follies and prevent political chaos which, in turn, would be successfully exploited by the Communists. Hence, all of her political judgments are based on the assumption that what is good for the Monarchy is good for Greece.)

6. While discounting allegations that the military are deeply involved in internal politics, the Queen is confident of their loyalty to the King and Queen. (Comment: During the conversation, she gave the impression that if faced with a critical situation, the Royal couple might turn to the military as a last resort to save the regime.)

For the Deputy Director, Plans:
[less than 1 line of source text not declassified]

0. Source: Department of State, Greek Desk Files: Lot 66 D 232. Secret; No Foreign Dissemination; No Dissemination Abroad; Controlled Dissemination; Background Use Only.