Mr. De Valera's Triumph The result of the general election
in Eire, which leaves Flamm Fail with an effective majority of x5, represents a great personal triumph for Mr. De Valera ; it proves that by achieving the settlement with Great Britain he has recovered with something to spare—all the prestige which in the preceding six months or so he appeared to have lost. There is little doubt that the result will serve the country's interests better than any other would have done. For six years the Government has been dependent for its majority on the support of the Labour members—an incalculable and opportunist rump, whose lack of political principle permitted it on more than one occasion to denounce a Government measure in debate and then to vote for it in the division-lobby. Labour has lost more than a quarter of its previous representation, and few people in Eire will share its tears at the less. There is no reason to suppose that, now that his hands have been freed, Mr. De Valera will suddenly embark on a revolutionary programme. All appearances suggest that, in domestic affairs, he will do no more than carry out the policy for which he asked and obtained a mandate ; while in external affairs the only relatively sensational development is likely to be the conclusion, when the time is ripe, of the defence pact with Great Britain on the inevitability of which responsible opinion in Dublin is now coming to agree.
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