November 7, 1958
LIBERALS: The Liberals’ parliamentary group met yesterday to settle the leadership question following the resignation of the two co-leaders, George Papandreou and Sophocles Venizelos. Venizelos set out the reasons for their resignation. The parliamentary group expressed its deep regret over their resignation, and issued a unanimous appeal to Venizelos to reconsider. The group then elected a temporary leader, Dimitrios Gontikas, and set a date for the election of a new leader at a congress to be held on the 23rd of this month. Papandreou was not present, nor the deputies Georgios Mavros and Giorgos Athanasiadis-Novas, who are abroad. Constantine Mitsotakis had been asked by Venizelos not to attend the meeting, but he is expected to set out his views at the party’s congress. MITSOTAKIS: Constantine Mitsotakis made this statement yesterday: «I am in absolute agreement with the decisions. The congress should be the beginning of a new period of progress for the party, in response to the expectations of the Greek people and the demands of the current critical political situation. Therefore the congress will need to elect a new leadership and political bureau… consolidate the party’s democratic functioning… and establish a clear political ideology.»
