A SPECTATOR
'S NOTEBOOK
MR. EDEN, by all accounts, has done a useful piece of national service in America and appears to have been scrupulous to avoid playing any kind of party game. I have seen in his speeches and in his farewell Press conference no syllable of criticism of the Labour Government. This adds some interest to the Gallup Poll results which the News Chronicle published on Wednesday, showing that 66 per cent. of those questioned desire a General Election this autumn ; that 45 per cent. think the Conservatives would win and 32 per cent. Labour ; and—more relevant in this connection—that 49 per cent. would prefer Mr. Eden as Prime Minister and 34 per cent. Mr. Churchill. But it is the Liberal and Labour replies to questions that put Mr. Eden in the first place ; the Conservatives put him second, by the narrow majority of 45 against 50. No undue weight should be attributed to such an unofficial plebiscite, but it is no secret that two views are held regarding the Conservative leadership. But I doubt whether the question will arise yet. Mr. Churchill is leader today and, full of ,vigour as he is, there is no reason to suppose he has any thought of retiring. If the Conservatives won the election the King would have no option but to call on him to form a government. And if and when that happens I predict that the Conservative Prime Minister will be a very different Parliamentary figure from the often mischievous and perverse Leader of the Opposition in this Parliament and the last. Leadership in the crises df today is in some respects a more arduous task than leadership in war, but versatility is one of Mr. Churchill's outstanding characteristics.
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