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tbc bairns IPosíl
FRIDAY,' APRIL' '24, 1925.
FRENCH POLITICAL CRISIS
There seems little prospect of the
new French Government, under Pain-,
leve, remaining in office for any
length of time, if thc reception ac-
corded to the new Premier and his
Ministers this week may be tnken as'
an indication! The Right Parties in
thc French Chamber seem to have in-
creased in influence during the past'
few weeks, 'whilst the Senate, which,
hhs adjourned its discussion on the;
new Government's policy till the end:
of thc month, is evidently gathering1
strength for a big1' mass attack. M.:
Painleve's Cabinet is of a very ill
assorted kind. Himself a poor hand
at politics, who enjoyed a very .Jwlcf
respite as Premier during thc war, be
lias chosen such mutually antagonistic
spirits as M.M. Briand and Caillaux
to hold thc portfolios of Foreign Af-
fairs and Finance. Whilst the latter
is a man of proved ability and of nh
amazing political strength, Caillaux's
selection, on thc face of it, was par-
ticularly ill-judged. However short
1 lived thc publie "'memory may bc,
Frenchmen cannot be expected to for-
get the last dozen dr so years of that
chequered career, which involved his
own wife in a murder charge and him-
self in exile as a result of
charges of his 1 reasonable relations
with the enemy. Not merely so, but
Caillaux is a pronounced and self
confessed Anglophobe. His pubh'c
utterances and his actions have again
and again shown it, and it is librdly
credible that such a leopard could
so easily change his spots. What,
then, arc the drastic remedies-and re-
forms which this would-be financial
conjuror, has up his sleeve? Thc next
few weeks will tell, but as Britain is
the largest direct creditor of France,
the position from the point of view of
'thc British taxpayer and bond-holder
is not altogether alluring. Caillaux's
internal enemies are very strong, and
whilst French ' opinion is sti|l highly
critical pf Britain (largely for her re-
fusal to see eye to eye with France
over the Ruhr invasion), it can hardly
be said^'to be Anglo-phobc, and Cail
:laux ' will find scant .sympathy if he
commences any startling anti-British
tactics as. of, ,old. (,.-Summing', up the
elements of thé* present French crisis,.
one is boilnd to admit that the Left.
Parties have considerably, discredited
themselves, by thc "inclusion. ,of. Cail-,
Unix; and'thc forces of the Right seem
?äcfjÖned^'tö: administer to them a very
iouiid and carly defeat. But even then
thc task of. facing thc financial issue ?
will by iib means have diminished; and
France will need a Government that
will dare to run thc risk of unpopu-
larity. Having "gone the limit" iii
inflating the paper currency, France
can. find little hope of further relief
in that direction. Iiufact, as one of thc
new Ministers has said, the State must
bc relieved as soon as possible of its
onerous', functions as a banker. But,
[What Treasurer is bold .enough to do
these things? M. Caillattx may try,
but' there seems little donut that he
will suffer defeat, uHe is (ir too vul
n ern ble, on 'p'èrsonâl 'grounds, apart
.from the. -question ^of his policy.
Meantime, as thc - day draws near for
the.. State-wide municipal > elections,
opjnioii is steádiK;-' .hióúlding, cither
towards the., lieft,,pr thc'Right, and
thc next two or three weeks will show
,tis what . the :prospccts are of a' rise
.ixi M;''.Poincarc's stock, 'or another;
re-shUffle among thc Radicals and'.the .
Socialists/' - / w'r ! V
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