Dr. Adenauer's Visit
The German Chancellor can count on a warm welcome on his arrival in London next week. There is every reason why liOnour should be done him in view of his long and distinguished public career. He was first known to the world as a singularly able Oberburgomeister of Cologne from 1917, during the First World War, till 1933, when he was dismissed by the Nazis, and subsequently imprisoned by them. He was primarily responsible fir the framing and adoption of the present German constitution, and as Chancellor since 1949 he has been far more successful in maintaining and guiding a stable German Government than those who attempted the same task after 1918. Convinced that the destiny of his country is bound up with that of Western Europe, Dr. Adenauer found little difficulty in reaching substantial agreement with the Foreign Ministers of Britain. the United States and France regarding the future status of Germany as an equal partner in the society of Western European States. Facing difficult opposition at home—on the Right a group of uninfluential but noisy nationalists, and on the Left Dr. Schumacher's intractable bitterness—he has displayed firmness and restraint, and has kept intact the rather precarious coalition, of the Christian Democratic Union and one or two smaller groups, on which he has relied since he took office two years ago. His presence in England will give a welcome opportunity for expressing, to him and through him, goodwill towards the renascent Western Germany.
Previous page
