FRANCO’S OFFER TO RECOGNISE PRETENDER’S SON

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22729, 30 August 1948, Page 5

FRANCO’S OFFER TO RECOGNISE PRETENDER’S SON

(N.Z.P.A.— Reuter— Copyright. > (10 a.Hi.) LONDON, Auk. 29. Reliable Spanish sources state that General Franco, in his talk with the Spanish Pretender, Don Juan, I old him he would recognise Don Juan’s eldest child, Juan Carlos, as Prince of Asturias or heir to the Spanish Throne if Don Juan renounced his own claim, says Reuter’s correspondent in Madrid.

These sources stated ‘that Don Juan did not commit himself but said he would consult his counsellors and give the matter full consideration. There are three main reasons why it is likely that the metting between Gen-

eral Franco and Don Juan took place at the present juncture, says the Daily Telegraph’s diplomatic correspondent. Tiie reasons are:— 1. Pressure from America on a country excluded from the Marshall aid and sorely in need of foreign credits. Only huge loans from abroad can prevent Spain's financial collapse. The American Charge d’Affaires in Madrid has been working for the restoration of the monarchy by agreement with General Franco. 2. Pressure from the church in Spain which sees a danger to itself through prolonged identification with the Franco regime. The church fears that when, the regime ends with Franco's death it will sutler in a wave of popular reaction. 3 The breakdown of negotiations between the Monarchists and Socialists inside and outside of Spain. The Socialists have increasingly come under the domination of the Communist minority, making the chance of a mutual understanding impossible.