Greek debt crisis takes its toll on cabinet's health

GEORGE PAPANDREOU might want to watch what he eats over the next few months, after the stress of the Greek financial position today claimed the health of yet another member of his cabinet.

Evangelos Venizelos, Greece's finance minister and Papandreou's deputy, was admitted to Athens's Central Clinic with abdominal pains earlier this morning. The portly Venizelos (above) is expected to be discharged this afternoon. But, as The Guardian reports, he is just the latest in a string of ministers to fall prey to the toll of months of long hours and high-pressure negotiations over the economic future of Greece.

Last week, George Glynos, a senior economic adviser to Papandreou and a key player in the EU negotiations, suffered a heart attack following a summit on 23 October. The very same summit led George Zanias, Venizelos's chief policy strategist, to develop abnormally high blood pressure. Zanias was subsequently ordered to stay in his room and not attend further EU meetings.

"Your body revolts," an anonymous Greek Finance Ministry official recently told Reuters. "You go from a plane to meeting after meeting with little sleep, you drink too much coffee and you are forced to eat bad food."

Any hopes of a let-up in EU summits look to have been dashed, however, by Papandreou’s announcement of a referendum on the EU rescue package. Keep taking the tablets. ·