GREECE GOES TO THE POLLS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLI, Issue 20327, 28 January 1936, Page 6

GREECE GOES TO THE POLLS

Many classical scholars have often lamented the fact that the glory that was once Greece is gone, for ever since the fall of the great Hellenic Empire, the Greeks have behaved like the people of a minor South American republic. Over selfish petty provincial matters, Greeks have quarrelled with Greeks, until they became not masterly scholars or model athletes or even good peasants, but mere petty politicians. Thus, with so many politicians in such a small poverty-stricken State, revolutions and counter-revolu-tions became almost a habit; but now after spending 12 years as a Republic, which allowed the people if anything, better opportunities for indulgence in revolutions, Greece has George II ruling again as a monarch with limited power. The restored King insisted, however, as one of the conditions of- his return to Greece, that the affairs of the country should be governed by an elected Parliament. But lie could hardly foretell the likely outcome of such a daring stroke. Unquestionably the King’s decision raised his prestige in the eyes of the people, because lie represented himself as a ruler who was anxious to create the happy relations between the Greek people and the Throne, which is the strength of the British monarchy. It is interesting to recall that the plebiscite for the King’s return was carried by a. majority officially estimated at 97.88 per cent, of the total number of voters; but considering the peculiar Greek methods of corruption, which it is reported, enabled one man to vote (il times, and permitted Kondylist troops to march from booth to booth, voting at each, the extent of the King's majority, even though it is official, may not represent, the will of the majority of the people. As is already clearly apparent by recent reports, which as a. matter of fact are subject to a strict censorship, the returned King is involved in political bickerings, and whether the length of bis

reign will reflect his apparent majority in the plebiscite, will largely depend on his own ability and foresight. Nominally, he is King of ail Greeks and not the head of any political group, and if he pays close attention to that fine distinction and makes himself a political umpire and not a political leader, Greece might remain as a monarchy. It is therefore of considerable moment that the results of the popular appeal to the people should yield political stability. “When Greece does a thing she does it overwhelmingly” stated The Observer in a short paragraph commenting on the plebiscite. “But lie would be a rash and ignorant man (ignorant especially of Greek mentality), wiio expected stability from a swinging pendulum.” For the restoration of his Crown, George II has in fact, undertaken a task that must often make him wonder if he was not more comfortably situated as an exile in London. His courage, however, must be admired, and for his immense task he has prepared himself by making a special study of the British Constitution; but because the Greeks have lost all idea of unity and with it the ability to work harmoniously for the common good, they scarcely present themselves as suitable subjects to operate the British scheme of government. George I, of course, reigned in Greece for some 40 years as a monarch greatly respected, and probably the secret of his long reign was that apart from acting as an arbitrator, he took no active part in politics and was therefore, acceptable to all factions. But because of the depths to which she has fallen, modern Greece requires more than a figurative though industrious King can give her before she rises above the condition of a common corrupted Balkan State. Political mania that was incipient centuries ago, requires more than a newly restored and well-meaning King for its cure. Greece indeed, requires more national broadmindedness and the thorough development of a national outlook. It is of some significance that there are already evidences of serious political rivalry; so much so, as the cable messages indicate this morning, “troops are ready to quell any outbreak.” The gradual loss of the essentials of statesmanship from the minds of the people resulted in the disappearance of that epoch-making period of Grecian culture and development. And well might a classical scholar weep when he considers the political rabble that wrangles in the small country that was once magnificently great, the country in which great thoughts were born and from which many of our present essential knowledge came. Time, however, is responsible for strange happenings; but even though centuries have passed since the greatness of Greece, her condition to-day reflects the very lesson contained in the moral to be drawn from her downfall.