GREECE'S PERPLEXITIES
Sra,—The " Greek in England " whose letter you published in your issue of May 26th warns us that, despite the recent encouraging news_ from the Lebanon, there still remains " a first-class political problem . . . certainly more important than much post-war planning ": the question of King George. The new Greek Premier, who left Greece only a few weeks ago, as well as the majority of the delegates to the Lebanon conference, seem to have a different view. M. Papandreou's statements, the agreement signed in the Lebanon, he delegates' speeches—all persuade us that the attention of the Greeks in Greece is focussed on the question of the cessation of civil war, the ridding of the Greek countryside of the reign of terror that prevails there, the question of food relief, &c. I make so bold as to think rather that these latter give the more accurate picture of the situation in Greece. Nor could it be otherwise, considering the gravity of the problems that have arisen in Greece since the German occupation.
The present goes by very quickly nowadays, and he would be far divorced from reality who would examine the situation through the prism of past bitter memories, as I fear " Greek in England " is doing. But I have no hesitation in agreeing with him in the wish that when the Greek people are called upon freely to express their views on the question of the regime, they may cast their minds back and recall in what a state Greece was in 1935 when the Monarchy was restored, and what the situation was in 194o. That superb rise from civil war and military inefficiency to the greatest military epic in the history of modern Greece speaks for itself. Equally well known to all is the personal role which King George played during the most critical moments of this struggle at the side of the Allies after the death of General Metaxas, when M. Koryzis committed suicide in despair, and when the Germans invaded Greece. Surely it would be ridiculous to maintain that King George, who would have been the first to be held responsible if the struggle of Greece and her Allies were to prove unsuccessful, should not be entitled to some part of the glory and gratitude today when victory is about to crown Greece in common with all the other allied nations.—I have the honour to be,
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