Smirks, Guile, Bluster

Wily Greeks hurried to Athens last week, sought rich pickings. Dictator Pangalos had been deposed, jailed (TIME, Aug. 30). His equally notorious successor in dictatorship, General Kondylis was, per force, passing out the plums of his new regime. The time was ripe for unctious smirks and fawns, for oratory, guile and treachery. The Greeks were happy. Even Admiral Hadjikiriakos, supposedly down and out as the crony in dictatorship of General Pangalos, was able to spellbind the Athenian rabble for an afternoon in Constitution Square. At eve he sought the new Dictator--with and against whom he has plotted many times-presented a petition signed by many a rabble scrawl demanding the formation of a Coalition Cabinet. This demand, already fructifying in other brains, led to a congress of chop, swap and barter between a spoil-ravenous group of military and naval adventurers and numerous former Premiers (Kafandaris, Papanastasion, Michalakopoulos, etc.). For a time anarchy loomed. Eventually General Kondylis, mixing bluster with serpentine intrigue was able to form what he called "a business cabinet." The "recalled" President of the Hellenic Republic, Admiral Konduriotis*, was persuaded to shed a constitutional refulgence over the following ministry:

General Kondylis....Premier, Minister of War and Minister of Marine/-

M. Pericles Argyropoulos....Foreign Minister

M. Drossopoulos Minister of Finance

M. Triandafilopoulus Minister of Justice

General Kondylis promised--as did General Pangalos when he seized power (TIME, July 6, 1925, et seq.)--that elections will shortly be held. At present Greece has no Parliament, and but slim chances that the new electoral promises will be kept better than the old ones which were not kept at all. At London, King George II, a first cousin once removed of George V of Britain, declared: "We have no personal desire for the throne of Greece, but if it is for the good of our country, then we are willing to return at any time. We do not know the circumstances of the revolution. We do not know what the feeling of the country is. We do not know what will happen."

* Appointed "Regent" and later "Provisional President" after the exile of King George II (TIME, Dec. 31, 1923). He was forced to resign this post by General Pangalos but was recalled to it last week by Dictator Kondylis. /- i. e. Dictator de facto.