OCR
Te to ereate thus a reasonable transítion between the present régime and a future Monarchy, headed by the young Prince. The question is only whether Don Juan will be ready to accept such a compromise, and whether he will not, by keeping his son outside of the country, bury definitely the chances of his family. It is to be feared that this will be his decision. This suicidal course of the Spanish Pretender and his close friends has led to a rift in the Monarchist movement of Spain. One of the oldest and most courageous leaders of Spanish Monarchism, Count Valellano, has now broken with the Pretender, and accepted to serve as a Minister of Public Works in the Franco administration. This rift is graver than many think, since Valellano carries with him a large popular following among the Monarchists, having been during the period of the Republic a fearless Monarchist Member of Parliament, who, besides the late Calvo Sotelo, was among the most courageous fighters against the Red régime. ‘he — fact that Valellano has now taken this course had as a result thet large masses of Monarchists, ineluding numerous members of the nobility, have broken with the Pretender, and are now favouring the idea of a Franco Regency for Don Juan's son, This trend, furthermore, is supported by the powerful Traditionalist group, which has now joined the Cabinet too, and is having there a large : ; ks to Party. Furthermore, it is well know that the new Minister All this makes a very powerful array of forces behind the idea of such a Regency, an array of forces which, sooner or later, will force for a showdown. While it is as yet too early to say what the real result will be, it nevertheless seems likely that sooner or later Don Juan will find himself confronted with a virtual ultimatum to accept the Regeney for his Son, or or else to 3 . see his family's chances destroyed once and for all. ; a , < ¥ a ti ite Pá : ve - há ee Re si B . x ae Cage Se ra s oar