FRANCO MAKES CHANGES

Southland Times, Issue 24841, 5 September 1942, Page 5

FRANCO MAKES CHANGES

Pro-Nazi Minister Dismissed (8.0.W.) RUGBY, September 3. Changes in the Spanish Government and the Falange, announced in Madrid, have caused great interest in London. The principal change is the replacement of Senor Serrano Suner as Foreign Minister and President of the Political Committee of the Falange. Senor Suner has long been known for his extreme views. He is replaced as Foreign Minister by General Jordana and in the Falange position by General Franco. General Asensio replaces General Varela in the War Ministry and Senor Perez replaces Colonel Galarza in the Ministry of the Interior. General Jordana is a noted Spanish jurist. General Asensio, who was one of General Franco’s civil war generals, became High Commissioner for Morocco in 1939 and Chief of Staff of the army in 1941. Senor Perez replaces Colonel Galarza as Minister of Justice. Senor Figueroa replaces Senor Lum, as deputy secretary of the Falange, General Asensio has been appointed a member of the Falange Political Committee. ARMY v. FALANGE

The long-expected show down between the Spanish Army and the Falange, which is Spain’s Fascist Party, has suddenly burst with the dismissal of Senor Suner, the Foreign Minister, who is the principal Falangist boss, says The Daily Telegraph’s diplomatic correspondent. The whole shake-up may be read in Berlin as a “Keep out sign.” General Franco has found he can no longer temporize and has had to swing right over to the Army, whose opposition to Senor Suner and also to the Falange’s home and foreign policy has been mounting for months.

Senor Suner’s pro-Germanism is intense, but he was compelled to observe a certain restraint ir foreign affairs, probably .at General Franco’s orders. During Senor Suner’s control the Falange has been a tool in German hands. Falangists have been introduced into all departments of the State’s activities with Hie single exception of the Army, which is free from any form of party control.

The Army, as a whole, is fundamentally monarchist. The higher officers are intensely nationalist. They are pro-Spanish and nothing else. They do not want to see Spain used as a German pawn and would put up a determined, if not desperate, resistance to any German plans for an invasion of the Iberian Peninsula.

FAVOURABLE TO DEMOCRACIES The Washington correspondent of The New York Times says the reshuffle of the Spanish Government is regarded as favourable for the democracies since Senor Suner is conspicuously pro-Axis. Observers hesitate to express a definite opinion until it can be discerned to what extent the shake-up resulted from frictions inside the Falange, but point out that Washington recently started efforts to maintain Spain as a non-bel-ligerent buffer between occupied Europe and Gibraltar and Africa. Furthermore, Spanish-American relations are improving because General Franco is believed to be determined upon neutrality. Washington sources have also received reports that the Spanish church and army were increasingly opposed to Senor Suner’s pro-Nazi policy. The Berne correspondent of The New York Times says informed circles interpret the reshuffle as the first of several moves preceding the return of King Alfonso’s son, Don Juan, to the throne. The whereabouts of the ousted Ministers is unknown, but it is reported that Senor Suner, who is considered to be responsible for Spain’s equivocal position, left Madrid for an undisclosed destination. It is rumoured that he intended a coup d’etat to forestall the restoration of the monarchy.

Serrano Suner is the brother-in-law of General Franco. A former magistrate he rose to political power ’v ! th the growth of the Falange and with the advance of his brother-in-law. By most Spaniards he has been regarded as a sinister figure. He has been Foreign Minister since October 1940.