Political Initiatives
But, said the Minister, a political initiative of this sort would have little value unless accom- panied by brisk political effort at other levels. He complained, specifically, that the Government is doing far too little to get the support, say, of the Christian Democrats in Germany and the Gaullists in France. 'Everyone seems to have been surprised by the Gaullists' victory in the recent elections; but look at this.' The Minister produced from his wallet the Gaull- ists' own forecast of the results, sent to him four weeks before the elections were held. They were accurate in almost every respect. These are men, clearly, who must be taken seriously and who will now have an independent importance in French politics. De Gaulle may have had a share in their creation, but they are now in a position to influence de Gaulle, and strongly. Yet we still ignore them, and the Foreign Office in particular. Which brings me back to my first question. How freely do ideas flow inside a Government?
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