An example to Mr Wilson
Sir : It was predictably bound to happen! One had not yet, however, quite brought oneself to associate the SPECTATOR with such shallow thinking (5 April). President Johnson is going (or is he?). Mr Wilson should do the same! For the same reasons? Apparently not! In the case of LRJ you refer to national and party interests and his own personal ambitions. In the case of the Prime Minister, like most of the gutter press, among which, incidentally, I do not include you, you merely 'personalise' his position in terms of his character. Having done this, you say he should resign, even though you state the policies of the Government he leads 'are now more or less on the right lines.' This means, surely, that in your view they are in the national interest? In their formulation Mr• Wilson has obviously played a leading role. He should clearly see them through, therefore, to either success or failure. Not so, you say, because of his 'personal qualities.' Here, it seems to me is a clear example of an illogical attitude on your part based on the personal vendetta against the Premier which you and the Opposition and its supporting newspapers have been conducting for months past. The concealed objective, of course, is to topple Mr Wilson before the predictable success of the Government's policies becomes too uncomfort- ably evident for Mr Heath and his followers to hold their present shaky support in the country. You, like other of his detractors, will, I feel sure, fail in your efforts to force the Prime Minister's resignation by the means you have so patently adopted, or even by seeking to sow dissension among members of a loyal and united Cabinet, as is the custom, very often, of the writer of your weekly political commentary.
While deploring the dangerous 'personalisa- tion' of political issues which you seem to favour, a reply in kind seems the only answer to make when false charges are made. I there- fore stress that competence, courage, kindness, steady nerves and loyalty to friends are some, among many, of the good personal qualities I know Mr Wilson to possess. To a lesser degree, I believe, some of them are shared by President Johnson. They are qualities, be it noted, which all down the ages have served their possessors in high office very well. For while their owners have often been castigated by their political enemies as the villains of today, they have almost invariably survived to be greeted as the achievers and the heroes of tomorrow. History can well repeat itself and this letter is written to warn you of such a possibility in the case of Mr Wilson.
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