Costas Laliotis, the former general secretary of PASOK who was replaced by Michalis Chrysochoidis earlier this month, is planning to sue the Wall Street Journal for a recent article suggesting he was identified with a host of evils, sources said yesterday.

The July 8 report by Takis Michas in the Wall Street Journal Europe said, “Getting rid of Mr Laliotis meant getting rid of somebody who has been identified with a period of mob rule, the dominance of party bosses, pandering to international terrorism, the creation of unsustainable budgetary deficits, the overburdening of the country with debt and the gradual erosion of many of the traditional values of Greek society.”

This was one of many reports in the international press to make disparaging remarks about Laliotis. This has convinced him, sources say, that the attacks are tied to an alleged desire by Washington to remove European politicians who opposed the war against Iraq. In a speech to PASOK’s Central Committee on July 3, Laliotis claimed US Ambassador Thomas Miller was behind his removal. The ambassador said this was “ridiculous.”