THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 6 MAY 1974

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007949
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: May 6, 1974

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/19 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012100010006-6
The President's Daily Brief
May 6, 1974
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 58(1),(2).631
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
TUE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
May 6, 1974
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
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(Page 1)
Portuguese Socialist leader Mario Soares has out-
lined his understanding of the junta's plans for
an interim government. (Page 2)
The French presidential run-off election on May 19
could be a close race between Francois Mitterrand
and Valery Giscard d'Estaing. (Page 3)
A Syrian official in Damascus reports that Soviet
Foreign Minister Gromyko will leave Syria late to-
morrow morning. (Page 4)
Canadats minority government is not likely to sur-
vive parliamentary debate this week on its budget
message. (Page 4)
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
SYRIA-ISRAEL
? Fighting did slacken over the weekend. UN ob-
servers, however, confirm Syrian and Israeli press
reports that exchanges of artillery, rocket, tank,
and mortar fire were taking place yesterday in the
Mount Hermon area and elsewhere on the Golan front.
Israeli aircraft flew air strikes against tar-
gets in the Mount Hermon area on Saturday. The tar-
gets included fedayeen positions on the Lebanese side
of the mountain. Air activity on Sunday was limited
to reconnaissance and defensive missions. No air-to-
air combat was reported over the weekend.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
PORTUGAL
Portuguese Socialist leader Mario Soares out-
lined to Ambassador Hillenbrand in Bonn on May 3 his
understanding of the junta's plans for an interim
government. He said the next governmente which will
be appointed within two weeks e will represent the
Portuguese political spectrum and will include Com-
munists as well as Socialists. He implied that he
would become prime minister. The new government will
remain in office until elections next year.
Soares advanced two reasons for including the
Communists in the government: if not included, the
Communists would press for early elections; and it
would be better to let the Communists share the suc-
cesses and failures of the government than to leave
them on the outside to criticize.
When asked to what extent he and Spinola are
in accord, Soares replied that their views are
"basically identical." He said the only difference
is Socialist insistence on a more rapid pace toward
decolonization.
Soares' comments are identical to what he told
Foreign Secretary Callaghan in London last Thursday.
A recent press interview with the young officers
who claim to have planned and organized the coup sug-
gests that preparations for the takeover had been in
progress for about a year. The officers implied in
the interview that they have the power to dominate
the junta. General Spinola's record. as a strong
leader, however,.makes-it unlikely, that he would
accept the position of a figurehead.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
FRANCE
Francois Mitterrand and Valery Giscard d'Estaing
yesterday easily won the right to face each other on
May 19 in a run-off for the French presidency.
With about 90 percent of the votes counted, it
appears that Mitterrand will take about 43 percent
and Giscard around 33 percent of the vote. Despite
a record turnout, Mitterrand seems to have failed to
improve on the proportion of first-round votes usually
won by the left and he received two percent fewer
votes than predicted in the last opinion polls.
The outcome of the second round may be close.
The latest polls indicated for the first time that
Mitterrand might defeat Giscard in the second round,
but the balance could easily shift back in Giscard's
favor in the next two weeks. In the past, a signifi-
cant percentage of the electorate has registered its
dissatisfaction with government policies in its
first-round votes.- In the second round, however,
it has voted for stability, which has been most bene-
ficial to the voters' pocketbooks.
The French electorate clearly wants economic
and social changes, and both candidates are promis-
ing reform. The middle-of-the--road voters will de-
cide the'race. They have not yet indicated clearly
if they prefer Giscard's moderate proposals or if
they will back Mitterrand despite his link with the
Communists.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
NOTES
USSR-Syria: A Syrian official in Damascus in-
formed the US interests section last night that
Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko will leave Syria
late tomorrow morning. Yesterday,. Gromyko began
talks with President Asad and Foreign Minister
Khaddam soon after his arrival. Secretary Kissinger
is scheduled to arrive in Damascus tomorrow.
Canada: Prime Minister Trudeau's minority gov-
ernmeHT?Ig?not likely to survive parliamentary debate
this week on its budget message. Rising inflation
and widespread labor troubles during April have led
the opposition to intensify its attacks on the govern-
ment's economic policies. The New Democratic Party,
which holds the balance of power in parliament, is
likely to support a Tory no-confidence vote, or even
propose one of its own. Passage of the motion would
lead to the government's resignation and new elections
could then be scheduled for July 8.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Top Secret
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