May 15, 1959
DIRECTIVE FROM KARAMANLIS: Prime Minister Constantine Karamanlis made the following statement yesterday regarding the choice of municipal leaders: «The government reiterates its decision not to interfere in the choice of local government leaders. It is the job of the lawfully elected municipal councils, based on the interests of local government, to chose the most capable candidate to lead them. However, it is important to note that the deeper significance of the April 5 local elections is the fact that the Greek people took a firm stand against the anti-Greek slogans of the extreme left. The overwhelming majority declared their desire to protect the country as well as their own freedom from every kind of communism. They placed their trust in the more patriotic candidates so as to protect local government organizations from the danger of corrosion by communism. I believe that none of the elected municipal councilors should ignore the significance of that mandate. It is their duty to discipline their partisan and personal ambitions in order to safeguard even the smallest village from communist influence.»
