Failure of Loyalty
THE battle which has been carried on over Dr. Kroll, West German ambassador in Moscow, seems to have ended in a draw. On the one hand, Dr. Kroll is to be withdrawn from his post later in the year. On the other, he will be free to pursue his diplomatic activity until that time, and Dr. Hartlieb, his subordinate, has been suitably • Chastised for criticising his chief in public. In spite of this equitable ending, the episode leaves a nasty taste in the mouth, of which its immediate Implications for West German foreign policy are the least part. It is the business of any ,West German ambassador to the USSR to be on good terms with the heads of the Russian Government Just as it is his business to use that relationship to explore possible solutions of the Central European problem. That he should be violently attacked for so doing only demonstrates the curiously prudish frame of mind of many German politicians and publicists when it comes to thinking about future relations with Russia. But it is more serious that when such attacks occur he should not be supported by his Minister or his Ministry. Under these circumstances it be- Comes impossible for an independent-minded official to take any initiative even in conversation With the head of the Government to whom he is accredited. The whole incident is a lamentable .example of that failure in loyalty both upwards and downwards which appears to outside Observers as one of the main blots on German Public life. Dr. Kroll may have been indiscreet in his advocacy of a new line in German policy, but 'those of his superiors who have failed to support him against press attacks have undermined the only foundation on which a foreign service can be built: the assumption of responsibility by Ministers for the actions of their officials.
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