781.00/11–450: Telegram
The Ambassador in Greece (Peurifoy) to the Secretary of State
1503. At King’s request I called on him at Tatoi late yesterday afternoon. No one else was present.
His Majesty opened conversation by saying that he had been doing a lot of thinking since we last met and wished to know if I had any objections to the following.
He said that he had given mandate to Venizelos at his request, that Venizelos cabinet1 would probably get votes of confidence from score or more dissident Populists and from sufficient other deputies to remain in power for brief period. However he does not consider present government real solution to Greek political ills.
Consequently King declared that when Venizelos-Papandreou government falls (and if it surprises by carrying on firmly and successfully he will be quite content) he had decided to appoint service government under George Ventiris to carry out elections in 45 days and to ask Field Marshal Papagos to form and lead a Nationalist [Page 433] ticket. Here King stressed and with absolutely no prompting from me that he would assure Papagos that he could form his own electoral group without hinderance [and] conduct his campaign in any manner he desired. King added that he believed that majority of Greece’s best men would flock to Field Marshal’s banner and mentioned specifically Tsouderos as the type of able citizen who would sever his present political ties to campaign with Papagos.
King concluded that he had not yet discussed matter with Papagos and would need several days to do so. He consequently asked me to keep our talk in strictest confidence.
His Majesty appeared to have no doubt that Papagos would be willing to enter race for Parliament particularly when King assured him he could write his own ticket. For conditions which Papagos would be likely to impose [see] Embtel 721, September l.2
I told His Majesty that I believed he had arrived at best solution for Greece and that he could count on Embassy’s full cooperation. I am pleased indeed that King has at last apparently decided to give Papagos a free hand (Embtel 1482, November 3)3 and believe that results thereof will be immensely beneficial. As I see it we will either have elections from which we are confident a really strong, able and honest Papagos government will emerge, or when word of the King’s plan leaks out as it must eventually we will have the present Parliamentarians cooperating to the hilt among themselves and with our missions here. I should much appreciate Department’s authorization to tell His Majesty that our government fully supports his views and thus strengthen his determination against advice he is likely to receive from his more conservative advisers.
- Formed November 3, with Sophocles Venizelos as Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and provisional Minister of National Defense, excluding the nine Populist members of his previous Cabinet.↩
- This telegram, dated September 2, not printed, reported that Field Marshal Alexander Papagos “would demand agreement” of the political leaders to the following three conditions for his leading a national front in elections: “(1) That after elections Papagos be free to select his ministers on basis of capabilities and without respect former party affiliations. (2) That Papagos have right veto candidacy on his ticket of any party man offered if in Papagos’ opinion said candidate was untrustworthy. Party which had candidate vetoed would have right to nominate replacement on ticket. (3) That Papagos have right to name 30 percent of candidates on his list in each district and thus inject badly needed new blood into Greek political life.” (781.00/9–250)↩
- Not printed.↩