This statue is in the village square in Theriso, in the foothills of the White Mountains, where our coach deposited us this morning. The figure was so recognisable that I knew who it was before my laborious Greek deciphered his name.

Eleftherios Venizelos (full name Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, Greek: Ἐλευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος; pronounced [elefˈθerios ciriˈaku veniˈzelos]; 23 August 1864[1] – 18 March 1936) was an eminent Greek leader of the Greek national liberation movement and a charismatic statesman of the early 20th century remembered for his promotion of liberal-democratic policies.[2][3][4] As leader of the Liberal Party, he was elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece, serving from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932. Venizelos had such profound influence on the internal and external affairs of Greece that he is credited with being "the maker of modern Greece",[5] and is still widely known as the "Ethnarch".

I post his picture in tribute to democracy and leadership on an island where I still find myself in amicable political discussion with shopkeepers who discover I'm from Scotland.

I love Crete.