M. Briaud has at last succeeded in forming a new
Government. He tried at first to form one from among the parties and sections which had shown themselves by their votes in the Chamber willing to support him, a field that lay a little to the right of where we have been accustomed to see him. With some audacity he approached both M. Poincare and M. Herriot, but the combination, which might have had for outsiders a spice of humour, was just too audacious. On Friday, June 18th, he gave up his effort, and the President sent for M. Herriot; who- tried for two days, but had no -greater success. Probably the recollections of talk of a Capital Levy made some whom he approached hold back. Last Sunday M. Briand began again, edging yet a little further to the right. He tried another combination of mutually repugnant elements, M. Poincare and M. Caillaux, and actually hoped that in those circum- stances M. Poincare -would become Finance Minister. M. Poincare has seemed throughout to be ready to act with broadminded patriotism. In the end M. Poincare is not included and M. Caillaux becomes. Minister of Finance. It is said that M. Caillaux has imposed con- ditions designed to make it really possible for him to carry out an unpopular policy.
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