Venizelos Leaves

Eleutherios Zenizelos, ex-Premier, announced that he and his wife intended to leave immediately for Cannes in the south of France. He charged: "My rivals in the poliitical world accused me of having counseled the murder of the ex-Ministers [in November, 1922], while my old collaborators strongly oppose the adoption of my policy."

He said that he was mistaken in thinking that he could serve his country, that he would like to stay and go on trying, but that his health compelled him to withdraw from politics indefinitely.

The Kafandaris Cabinet collapsed after Venizelos' decision to depart became known and after the General commanding the First Army at Athens had intimated that he and his officers were firmly resolved to overthrow the dynasty and proclaim a republic.

The Regent consulted with several important men and charged M. Papanastasion, Republican leader, with forming a Cabinet. It was considered improbable that he would obtain a majority in the National Assembly; but if he should, his plan will be to abolish the Glucksburg dynasty and proclaim a republic, the establishment of which will be subject to confirmation by a plebiscite to be held in due course.

M. Venizelos went to Athens from Paris early last January (TIME, Jan. 14, et seq.) in response to a general invitation from the Greek populace.

Soon after his arrival Britain and the U. S. showed their confidence in the Greek statesman by granting Greece full de jure recognition, which had been withheld for more than a year.

At Athens M. Venizelos was elected President of the Assembly and subsequently he became Premier, not for the first time in his life. Last month, however, his bad health forced him to resign the Premiership, since when the troubled Greek waters have daily become more troubled.

The ex-Premier laid down that the Greek people should directly settle the questions of whether Greece is to remain a monarchy or become a republic, and whether in the former case, the Glucksburg dynasty is to remain or be supplanted by another dynasty. These two burning constitutional questions could be settled in no other way than by holding a plebiscite, according to M. Venizelos. It was largely because the republicans had to get the Assembly to proclaim a republic that the sexagenarian statesman left Greece.