SIR ANTHONY'S RESIGNATION
THAT Sir Anthony Eden might have to resign for reasons of health has for long been known. But once the final decision was made the secret was well kept; so well indeed that his journey to Sandringham to see the Queen was assumed to be caused by a forthcoming Cabinet reshuffle and set off no rumours about his impending retirement.
This is not the time to dwell upon Sir Anthony's great ser- vices to the country or to assess the twenty-one months of his Premiership. But there can be no doubt that his decision to resign was right. His resignation was politically desirable as well as medically necessary. Whatever the merits of his Suez policy, it split the country down the middle. His successor must inevitably be deeply involved in the same policy, but, as the resignation of Sir Samuel Hoare after the Hoare-Laval pact showed, the resignation of the single Minister particu- larly responsible for, and identified with, an action or a policy can suffice, even though in strict logic it should be all or none. Sir Anthony's departure will make it much easier for the country to resume its accustomed degree of unity on questions of foreign affairs. It will also smooth negotiations with America and will do something to heal the scars that recent events have left on the Commonwealth.
But while the task of leading the country and the Con- servative Party will be less hard for his successor than it had become for Sir Anthony, the new Prime Minister will be taking charge at a peculiarly testing time. It is greatly to be hoped that he will not for that reason be deterred from some very radical changes. Many members of the Government are tired men; others have failed. The new Prime Minister should be ruthless in replacing them. Only with new men will he be able to bring in those new measures which are necessary for the country, for the survival of the Government, and for the reformation of the Conservative Party.
Meanwhile, Sir Anthony's political friends and opponents alike will unite in wishing him a quick and complete recovery.
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