M. Daladier's Majority Aided no doubt by patriotic feeling aroused
by Italian demands in the Mediterranean, M. Daladier secured his expected majority in the Chamber last week, by 315 votes to 241. The majority was larger than expected, yet its com- position must cause M. Daladier some alarm. Among the 54 abstentions were 30 of his own party, including M. Delbos, the former Foreign Minister ; and his majority was so large only because the Right, including the supporters of Colonel de la Roque, came solidly to his support, while warning him they could only be depended on if he acted in accordance with their wishes. In fact, despite his many manoeuvres, M. Daladier has made himself, it appears, not the master but the servant of the Right. Yet though his Parliamentary position is precarious, his Government secured another triumph this week with the passage of the 1939 Budget and the Reynaud-Daladier decrees through the Finance Committee of the Chamber, with unimportant amendments that reduce an estimated Budget surplus of £160,000 to L140,000.
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