US Supports One-Sided Politics in Greece, Teaching Fellow Declares

By participating as an official observer of the recent Greek elections which were boycotted by nearly 30 percent of the electorate, the United States has sanctioned a political maneuver just as one-sided as those for which we condemn Russia, Roy Macrides, teaching fellow in Government and former member of the Allied Missions to Observe Elections in Greece, stated yesterday.

"This is our chance to show Russia how elections should be carried out in liberated countries, and we failed by not using our influence in the mission to bring about participation of all political parties," declared Macrides.

Populist Control

The government which was put into office at the March 31 election is controlled by members of the Populist party, some of whom were collaborators during the German occupation, and many of whom took no part in the resistance movement sponsored by the liberal parties headed by the EAM. Leading policies of the present government are restoration of King George and a "Greater Greece" which will include the Dodecanese Islands, now coveted by the USSR.

A plebiscite on the return of the king to the throne has been approved by the British Government, premier Constantin Tsaldaris announced yesterday in Athens. Macrides believes such a plebiscite should be avoided for at least a year, in view of the objections of the various democratic parties in Greece.

Macrides, who is working on his Ph. D. thesis here, pointed out that the 800,000 abstainers in the election were not only of the leftist EAM, but also included members of the democratic Agrarian. Progressive, and Socialist parties.

Defiance To King

"If the Populists attempt to return the king immediately, there will be open defiance by the opposition." Macrides predicted. He recommended new general elections after revision of the registration lists, which now include names of people long since dead as well as double registrations.

Because of UNRRA, which has "helped a great deal," Greece is now flooded with food and other goods, according to Macrides, but workingmen's wages are so low that most people cannot buy what they need. "A more representative government would be capable of solving such domestic problems as these," he said.