Athens has a lot to do in 5 months

The Olympic stadium and swimming pool remain roofless. Housing is unfinished. The marathon route is still not all paved.

Five months from opening ceremonies, the 2004 Athens Games are looking like a big, fat Greek mess.

Throw into the mix a possible government shake-up in next Sunday's national elections, the firebombs of Greek anti-Olympic activists and the threat of international terrorism, and it's no wonder anxiety is high.

These are an Olympics that ought to be majestic, a return to the roots of the Games, surrounded by the beauty and history of Greece, and hosted by some of the world's most charming and convivial people. If anyone knows how to throw a party, not to mention a discus, the Greeks do.

Instead, work stoppages, politics and procrastination threaten to turn the ancient home of the Olympics into a modern-day fiasco.

Athens has had seven years to get ready for the Games. Now, 164 days before the opening ceremony on Aug. 13, so much remains to be done that it seems only the intervention of Zeus can help.

For all the urgent calls from the International Olympic Committee to step up the pace, a tour of Athens reveals no rush to finish.

IOC president Jacques Rogge is so worried that he told the Greek organizers on Saturday to forget the frills and to focus on the "core business."

If that means there won't be a glorious glass and steel roof on the main stadium as planned, Rogge doesn't care anymore. The missing roof may hold Greece up to ridicule and hurt the country's self-esteem, but it won't stop the track and field competition.

The missing roof at the swimming venue is another story. That's where it will affect racing times, leave athletes and spectators roasting in the sun, and hurt television broadcasts.

The marathon course needs to be finished, as do the housing and the tram and light-rail lines.

"It's going to be challenging, but it is feasible," Rogge said of all the work to be done.

The IOC issued a strong warning to Athens organizers in 2000 after three years of chronic delays. Rogge said the situation improved markedly after the government increased its involvement and Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki took over the organizing committee.

"Very much has been achieved, much remains to be done," Rogge said. "There is still enough time to have excellent Games, provided our Greek friends continue at a fast pace. I remain confident."