NEW GOVERNMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25735, 5 January 1945, Page 3

NEW GOVERNMENT

FORMED IN ATHENS HEADED BY PLASTIRAS (Rec. 9 p.m.) ATHENS, Jan. 3. General Plastiras lias formed a new Government, in which he is also Minister of War, the Navy, and Air. The Cabinet consists of seven Ministers and five Undersecretaries.

General Plastiras will also be Minister of Mercantile Marine. Other Ministers include the Socialist, M. Sofianopoulus, as Foreign Minister, and 'the Liberal. M. Sideris, as Finance Minister The full list is not yet available, but the E.A.M. does not appear to be represented. The new Government was sworn in by the Regent, Archbishop Damaskinos, to-day. The surprising news that General Plastiras, former Republican dictator, has stepped into the breach and agreed to form a stop-gap Government followed only a few hours after the general had declared he was not ready to accept the Premiership, says The Times Athens correspondent. General Plastiras had announced that he was prepared to be Cpmmander-in-Chisf of the army, but said he was not a politician. Few politicians are ready to shoulder serious responsibilities, and there has been a general lack of confidence and marked uncertainty throughout the city. Athens is still being battered while the politicans conduct timorous discussions. Salvoes continue to fall into the city streets, and one shell killed many civilians.

Black depression is replacing optimism, and the general feeling is that the end of the dispute is still a long way off. British artillery last night continued harassing fire against roads leading to Athens, reports Reuter's Athens correspondent. Stiff house-to-house fighting went on in Athens yesterday as the British advanced against the perimeter north-east of Omonia Square. Two hundred E.L.A.S. troops were taken prisoner, 41 killed, and 42 wounded. An E.L.A.S. counter-attack launched early to-day was beaten off. General Scobie’s communique states: “ We made further progress in clearing up Central Athens. An insurgent attempt on December 31 to blow up the Greek National Guard headquarters was frustrated. The situation elsewhere is unchanged.”