As the embattled Greek prime minister and the main opposition leader clashed over the country’s roiling debt crisis, the friends-turned-rivals could hardly be blamed if they recalled easier times from their college days in Massachusetts.
George Papandreou and Antonis Samaras were dorm mates in the early 1970s at Amherst College, where they bonded over their shared homeland and antipathy for its ruling military junta. The pair, who in Athens attended high school together, grew closer at Amherst, far from home. They became part of a close-knit contingent of Greek students who, over late-night chats, talked of political change, of a new day for their country.
“Their common ground was getting Greece free,’’ said Philip Tsiaras, who knew Papandreou and Samaras at Amherst.
Some four decades later, the two men are fierce political rivals at the heart of a high-stakes economic crisis that threatens to engulf Europe and throw the global economy into chaos. On Sunday, Papandreou, the 59-year-old Socialist prime minister, and Samaras, the 60-year-old conservative, agreed to a coalition government expected to implement a vast package to rescue the country from bankruptcy.
Papandreou, who endured months of protests over austerity measures, has agreed to step down once the coalition is formed. The transitional government will lead the country until February elections.
The man who could replace Papandreou also has strong Massachusetts ties. Lucas Papademos, vice president of the European Central Bank from 2002 to 2010, is an MIT-trained economist and currently a visiting professor of public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where this year he taught “The Global Financial Crisis: Policy Responses and Challenges.’’
Martin Feldstein, a Harvard economist, described Papademos as a “sophisticated and very experienced economist who could put the Greek economy on a better path if the politicians will let him.’’
Since the students’ time at Amherst, Greece has transitioned from a repressive military junta to the establishment of a republic and entry into the European Union. The Socialist party assumed power in 2009, but the country soon faced a financial reckoning caused by years of borrowing and excessive spending.
Samaras, who leads the conservative New Democracy Party, has been calling for Papandreou’s resignation and immediate elections, and recently said his old college pal was “blocking any solution’’ to the debt crisis.
But in college, the two were good friends, expatriates whose home country was stifled by an oppressive regime.
“In effect everyone was in exile,’’ said Tsiaras, an artist living in New York City. “There was a natural camaraderie.’’
In 1967, Papandreou’s father was imprisoned by the military dictatorship. Under intense political pressure, the junta freed him, but forced him into exile. The family settled first in Sweden, later moving to Canada, where Papandreou finished high school.
His father, Andreas Papandreou, who studied economics at Harvard University, went on to serve as prime minister in Greece from 1981 to 1989, and again from 1993 to 1996.
At Amherst, the younger Papandreou seemed to enjoy time away from the political life that was his birthright. His grandfather served three terms as prime minister.
“It gave him a chance to be a college student, to be himself,’’ Tsiaras said.
Politics sometimes dominated their conversations, but, truth be told, they were far more likely to discuss girls, Tsiaras recalled.
Still, while fellow students would go skiing on the weekends, Papandreou often accompanied his father on political trips. The junta fell in 1974, and the elder Papandreou returned to Greece. The following year, the son graduated Amherst with a degree in sociology.
Even in college, the personalities that came to define them politically were evident, friends and professors said. Papandreou was relaxed and mild-mannered; Samaras was focused and passionate.
While Papandreou seemed casual or even conflicted about a political future, Samaras, who also hailed from the political elite, already had his eye fixed on the prime minister’s seat.
“He was forming his Cabinet by his sophomore year,’’ Tsiaras said.
Samaras, who graduated from Amherst in 1974, was a standout economics student with unremitting faith in free enterprise.
“He was very interested in markets and how they could work better,’’ said Walter Nicholson, an economist who taught Samaras in two small classes.
Nicholson, who regarded Samaras as a favorite student, said Samaras was clearly interested in public policy but also had “an academic interest in economics.’’
Nicholson and Samaras came to know each other outside of class, and occasionally played tennis. “He was fun to talk to,’’ he recalled. “He was more mature than many students.’’
Samaras went on to Harvard Business School, graduating in 1976. It was clear, one classmate recalled, his future lay at home.
“He was very passionate about what was going on in Greece,’’ said Marshall Toplansky, president of a technology marketing firm in California.
Samaras usually wore a blue double-breasted blazer and a buttoned-down, collared shirt, even at casual gatherings, Toplansky recalled.
“I don’t think I ever saw him in jeans,’’ he said.
Toplansky has followed Samaras’ career from afar, calling his rise “the soft power of Massachusetts at work.’’
Acquaintances of Papandreou have done likewise. Ronald Tiersky, a political scientist who taught Papandreou at Amherst, praised his work as foreign minister in negotiating better relations with Turkey and his commitment to human rights.
“He’s a good man,’’ he said. “You really have to feel for him in this situation.’’
Tiersky recalled the college-aged Papandreou as a bright, popular presence who carried himself with modesty.
“Above all, he gave the impression of being someone of integrity,’’ Tiersky said. “He was a congenial, gentlemanly, soft-spoken kid. You just trusted him.’’
As their clash has intensified, their friendship seems to have fallen prey to political rancor. But as recently as this summer, Papandreou took the long view on their relationship.
“Sometime, after a decade, or so, we may sit down over a glass of wine and think back and say, let’s assess how things have gone in Greece,’’ he told Bloomberg news service.
Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globepete.