The latest 'coup' in Greece, carried out as in 1967 with the aid of a NATO plan designed to come as no real surprise. The Paris newspaper Le Monde, for instance, had two days earlier analysed the existence of at least three factions in the armed forces-of which that supporting Papadopoulos was reckoned to be the weakest.
The rots the previous weekend, and the gathering popular support which they had eroked, had exposed only too clearly the weakness and instability of the Papadopoulos regime, Last Sunday's move was primarily. intended to halt the growing concentration of power in the sole hands of Papadopoulos: even had elections taken place, he would still as president have retained complete control over such matters as internal security until his tenm expired in 1981, and his puppet prime minister, Markezinis, talked of making him the "Tito of Greece."
It is unclear as yet what policies the new government will pursue, The main figure behind the coup. Brigadier loannides, b the head of the military police and a notorious torturer, while the new prime minister, Androutsopoulos, is a former Chicago lawyer who has a close working relationship with the CIA. The new president, General Gizikis, is Donovca lo Dea narouner.
NEED FOR STABILITY The most likely course for the new regime is a combination of "liberalisation' measures (release of the old politicians and some of the forestall a Communist seizure of power, should students and worken recently arrested) together with a tightening up of security to try to prevent any repeat of the recent mass upsurge. It is possible also that moves may be made towards setting up the goverament of National Union" called for hy the old politicians at the time of the fiots. This would include representatises of all the old hourgeois parties with Karamanlis (former Jeader of the rightwing ERE) as the likcly prime minister, But whatever measures are pursued, thoy wil reflect the need for a new stable regime in the country. This is the more urgent for US imponalism followin, the inconclasive clection results in neighhouring Turkey, which threaten to create a new weakness in NATO'N southem flank. Furthermore, a move tawards "normalisation" with a cinlian government and the reintepration of the old bourgeois purlies into the political bife of the country may be the only way to unite the capitalist forces to deal with the tremendous economic problems now besetting Greece (imports have doubled and intlation has soared by N0% since the beginning of the year.)
NOTHING FOR WORKERS One thing is clear: the new regime offens no more prospects for the workers. peasants and students of Greece than did the old, It is particularly obscene, therefore, to see the Greek Communist Party (the KKE) joining in the calls for a government of 'National Union' - the more so as Karamanlis instituted a vicious real way forward for the mass movement in General Phaedon Gizikis (left), the new Greek president who took part in Sunday's coup after the mass upsurge of students and workers (right) had shown the instability of the Papedopoulos regime witch hunt against the KKE while in office, and was rot above rigzing the clections le maintin his position until a mass, extro perlamentory upsurge forced him intu exile it 1963, Having been one step behind the masses throughout the upsurge of a fortnight ago, the KKE now secks to subordinate the mass movement lo manocufres within the capitulist ciass in a desperate attempt to get back on lo the familiar ground of the "peaceful road."
In fact, it was the upsurge a fortright ago, when the most advanced sections of the working ciass, students and peasantry came together under the lcadershep of an independent, elected strugde contnittee in Athens, which sbowed the establishmneet of a Socialist Workeis Republic Greece, The lask now rust be to develop these tendencies towards democtutic mass organisatimn, to concretise the anti-capitalist slogans which have been raised, and lo forge a revolutionary current capable of gring consistent Jeadership in the struggles ahead Drawing on the lessons of the bloodbath a fortnipht ago, such leadenain must abo of neoessity include continuous propaganda for the formation of armed detachments of the working class and its student and peasant allies right from the start. On this road, and this road alone, lies the final solution to the problejus of the Greek working masnes-the John Marston