GOVERNMENT OF GREECE

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25274, 28 August 1947, Page 7

GOVERNMENT OF GREECE

Populists To Form Cabinet U.S. MEDIATION FAILS (N.Z. Press Association-r-Copyright) (Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, August 26. American efforts to break the Greek political deadlock failed when the Liberal Republican leader (Mr Sofoulis) insisted on becoming Prime Minister. The American Ambassador (Mr Lincoln MacVeagh) earlier conferred with Mr Sofoulis) and the leader of the Royalist Populist Party (Mr Tsaldaris) After the conference Mr Tsaldaris said that he had proposed a neufral figure for Prime Minister, but Mr Sofoulis had rejected the proposal. Mr Tsaldaris announced that he was going ahead with his own plans to form a Government. He said ne would form a cabinet with his Populist Party,

which had a Parliamentary majority. He would leave the door open to any other party willing to join the Cabinet to fight against the Communists. It is known that the administrator of American aid to Greece (Mr Dwight Griswold) has insisted in talks with several political leaders that a broadened government be formed. The Athens correspondent of “The Times” says: “All the important Parliamentary parties except that of General Zervas have already stated that they will not serve under Mr Tsaldaris. Mr Tsaldaris will have difficulty in producing a Cabinet which would receive a vote of confidence when the Chamber meets on August 28. It would be a Government even more narrowly conservative than the one which resigned on August 23, and it could expect a short life in face of the strong desire of the Greek people and their American advisers for a broadlybased government of all parties. “Spokesmen of the Greek Army, which is bearing the brunt of the national struggle, have called upon the politicians to unite, and have made the original suggestion that each party leader should become governor-gen-eral of a province and have the direct responsibility for its salvation.”