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By that logic, Papandreou should make no potentially disruptive external moves. The U.S.-base leases, for example, help to bring Greece $500 million a year in U.S. military aid. The facilities also provide work for about 1,650 Greeks. To be on the safe side, however, the U.S. Defense Department has made contingency plans to relocate the bases if necessary.
Domestically, Papandreou has made clear that he is intent on increasing his ; personal power. Last March he shocked many of his countrymen when he abruptly withdrew his backing for a second term for Constantine Caramanlis, then the country's President. A conservative, pro-Western politician revered by most Greeks, Caramanlis had been a moderating influence on Papandreou. The Prime Minister replaced him with his own candidate, Leftist Christos Sartzetakis, and in coming weeks Parliament is expected to pass a constitutional amendment severely restricting the powers of the presidency. The presidential office's loss of power will be Papandreou's gain.
Whatever Papandreou's other objectives may be for his second term, they are unlikely to lead him back toward the political center. Says a Greek politician: "After this election, his base is more of a leftist constituency than ever before." As long as Papandreou is in office, in other words, the Western alliance will have to keep a close eye on the gadfly in Athens.