He is the King without a kingdom. Still Constantine is among friends
? Just two days to go, and on that wedding list we see the names King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes, Crown Prince Pavlos, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, and Prince Constantine of Greece. Which might surprise many ? not least Greeks ? as Greece is a republic. So who are all these fake Greek royals? They are all the family of Constantine, who lost his throne in 1973. Known as Constantine the Little in Greece, he is a sad figure and widely unpopular ? not least because, when the fascist colonels took power in a coup in 1967, Constantine swore them in. Constantine thought the strongmen would treat him nicely; but when the military junta failed to show enough deference, he launched his own counter coup, which failed. When the Greeks rose up and brought back democracy in a revolution in 1973, the people wanted nothing to do with Constantine. Then he made himself even more unpopular by suing Greece for millions in "reparations". He doesn't even have a Greek passport, for they won't issue him one unless he is willing to apply with a surname and he refuses. It's King or nothing. No doubt that was on his RSVP.
? A new day, new revelations via WikiLeaks about the tragicomedy at Guant�namo Bay. They can keep the inmates inside the wire. But it's hardly a tight ship. The files show that one alleged desperado had links to the hotbed of agitation that is "Quickwood" in London. Inquiries reveal that to be Cricklewood. Another sought further education at "Hampton" University. It transpired, that this was Wolverhampton. Still, it's difficult work, because names change, allegiances shift and a nugget that seemed invaluable can be rendered useless. Inmate Bernsayah Belkacem, was transferred to GitMo from Bosnia, with a British telephone number officials were never quite able to get to the bottom of. And little wonder. When we rang it yesterday we encountered a blameless lady in the Midlands who had never heard of him. Before that, it was the number of a parish church.
? Question: what happened to Tony Blair in office? According to former comrade Bryan Gould, now part of the great and good in New Zealand, he succumbed to prime minister's syndrome, "the temptation, after a year or two of being treated as infallible, to believe it": the most extreme example we have seen, says Gould, writing in the New Zealand Herald. For the modest young Tony feared he would be "found out" in the shadow cabinet. But once the rot set in, "he reached the point of ceasing to concern himself with the truth or otherwise of what he said. The mere fact that he had said it was enough ? in his mind ? to establish its credibility beyond all challenge." Add to that "an almost messianic conviction that he should play an important role on the world stage" and, says Gould, Iraq was inevitable. It all seems so clear from far away.
? We fight to the death over AV, and then we will heal, say the leading lights in the coalition. But it might not be so easy now that Nick Clegg's lashing out and Tory MPs have been given carte blanche to bash their unwanted bedfellows, the Lib Dems. With Twitter as a weapon, they are rather enjoying it. "I have a great unpaid MA student interning in my office ? if Clegg had his way I would have to sack him," thunders the thunderer from Shipley, Philip Davies. "Seems they just can't handle fact public isn't as obsessed with tinkering as they are," taunts Christopher Pincher, the Tory from Tamworth. And then there is Therese Coffey from Suffolk Coastal. "Chutzpah of Simon Hughes on dishonesty ? pot kettle black ? as he peddles myths and slurs," says Therese. Can they ever be one happy family again?
? Finally, we are forwarded an email received by a correspondent on business in Nigeria. Garbled, but seems a golden opportunity. "Although you may be concerned about my email because we have not met before, My name is Mervyn King, as I am the governor Bank of England, is the sum of ?20,600,000.00 in my bank, there were no beneficiaries stated concerning these funds are not an agent would ever come forward to claim it." He proposes a split, 60/40 apparently. Normally we would be suspicious, but as it's him ?
diary@guardian.co.uk
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/apr/27/hugh-muir-diary
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