Diplomatic report
This is a translated excerpt from a letter (practically a diplomatic report)
of U.S.A. ambasssador Lincoln MacVeagh to the President of his
country, Franklin D. Roosevelt. It bears 4 May 1935 as its date of dispatch
and refers - amongst other things - to the constitutional issue. It is included in the
volume Ambassador MacVeagh Reports: Greece 1933-1947, ed. J.
O. Iatrides, (Princeton univ. press, 1980).
Athens, 4 May 1935
Dear Franklin
Since I last wrote you, we have had some interesting developments here
that are still going on...
A little after Mussolini started sending troops to Abyssinia, the Venizelist revolt in Greece broke out here, not without a general warning but rather abruptly as to the exact time of its outbreak ...
You may have noted in documents that a lot is being said concerning the restoration of monarchy here. Such a thing definitely exists in the papers, but there is in Greece no such mobilization comparable to that talked of in the foreign press. There is a small group of royalists that desires restoration for the personal benefits that will fall to its members. There is, to reinforce this, the Greek desire for change. But generally speaking there is inertia.
With the leaders of the Opposition having just been released from prison, the royalist votes may win a majority in the coming elections. Or the King may return with a coup. But in any case, restoration will only be important locally, unless England 'lends' the Duke of Kent. This is rather unlikely, considering the responsibility it entails and the impact generally on foreign policy. It is almost certain that if monarchy is restored it will not benefit Greece. Its supporters call monarchy a 'stable form of government', but most Greek Kings have always been a storm...
I have written enough for the moment, and I can only hope that you will have time and patience to read it all ...
Yours faithfully
Lincoln MacVeagh
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