Athens, Greece

Greece was on the verge. The Prime Minister had resigned and called for a caretaker government pending new elections. His part, the ERE, was left without clear leadership and many near Karamanlis claim that he was organizing his departure from Greece in the lead-up to the elections. The man who had once curried large amounts of favor with the King was now on the outs, the two of them slinging diplomatic insults at each other in the press. Karamanlis request for a caretaker government to organize elections, however, was shot down by King Paul.

Preferring instead to pass an electoral reform law that would stabilize the country, the King appointed Panagiotis Pipinelis not as a caretaker Prime Minister, but interim PM, effectively giving him control of the government in Karamanlis’ stead. The King trusted Pipinelis to implement a major electoral reform with the consent of the opposition. Pipinelis, understanding the task at hand, got to work with as much of the ERE that he could, barring that which was too closely marred in the scandals of the last years.

Following a period of discussion, Karamanlis agreed to run in the next election as head of the ERE, hoping that Pipinelis would be able to assuage public fears of the ERE’s decline and inability to prevent political instability.

Meanwhile Papandreou was hard at work courting members of the ERE that were disappointed with Karamanlis leadership. He also courted the King himself, and several private meetings were held between King Paul and Papandreou in the days following Karamanlis resignation. Press reports indicate that the main subject of these talks was ensuring political stabilities and identifying avenues in which the EK was willing to work with the ERE.