VERSE
McMullen, Richard E.
blame the Common Market membership for everything that is going wrong. The postwar economic problems of England are in part caused by the expense of the welfare system created by Labor after the...
...People look much more prosperous...
...If any answer to that crisis is likely to be found, it is more likely to be found in Washington than in London, Brussels, or Paris...
...Moving slower than it grows, it will take a long time to see me, to turn its head, to reach my window...
...Unless work is placed back on the order of the day, and a modus vivendi reached between workers and managers, England will not have a future...
...The problem of the reformist programs of income redistribution of English socialism is that they assume the viability of English capitalism--i.e., the boss can always pay...
...Unlike England, labor relations are excellent...
...Prime Minister Callaghan has tried to shift England's attentions to the problems of modernizing production, but the government lacks much of a parliamentary majority or moral authority in the nation...
...18 March 1977:168...
...Finally, how would a left majority get along with a centrist president...
...Former Prime Minister Chirac, kicked out by Giscard because of a conflict on how to deal with the threat of the left (Giscard wanted a course of moderate reform, Chirac direct confrontation), has transformed the gaullists (the majority in the majority) in name and spirit...
...Would a left victory lead to an economic crisis, based on fears by business or actual sabotage...
...Belgium's future is closely tied to the world economic situation...
...It is hard to tell whether the French Communists are sufficiently de-Stalinized to participate loyally in a democratic regime...
...Are they as sophisticated as the Italians...
...If not, the future of the left in Europe might be set back for another generation...
...The situation in these three countries is thus quite volatile (to say nothing of Spain, Portugal, or Italy...
...Even if the left does not win, Giscard may be faced with this problem, since the present "majority" is in full disarray...
...Not much has been done to develop an effective program of economic investment in capital goods, for example...
...Are the socialists strong enough organizationally to dominate a coalition government with the Communists...
...At a time when the survival of the nation is at stake, social polarization intensifies...
...Although France suffers from the economic recession, the focus of attention is currently on political developments...
...Third Force policies almost destroyed the old socialist party...
...The recent renascence of the socialists and the "new look" of the Communists have made a change possible...
...Today, it's not that simple...
...Ironically, if World War II pulled England together, the present economic crisis pulls her apart...
...In economic terms, Belgium is much better off...
...Wallonia like England suffers from her early industrialization...
...Recent polls show that a left-wing majority might well emerge in parliamentary elections...
...threaten the government's survival...
...On the other hand, Belgium has gained from Brussels' having become a center for European business...
...0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 000 000 RICHARD E. MCMULLEN TRYING TO SLEEP On the lawn, the great lizard, slow as a hill, rests like a log half out of water...
...A demagogic and noisy anti-Communist crusade has begunmpresumably with "no enemies on the right...
...STEVEN PHILIP KRAMER (Steven Philip Kramer, a previous contributor, is a member of the History Department at the University of New Mexico...
...As a result of a century and a half of conflicts over religion, class and language, Belgium has arrived at an elaborate political system based on consensus...
...Such a victory would be problematic at best, however...
...the extreme left of the Labor Party and the radical wing of the T.U.C...
...Since the creation of the Fifth Republic, French politics have been dominated by the right...
...Up till now, the "presidential" majority has always coincided with the parliamentary majority...
...The worker is protected by excellent insurance, but continued unemployment will make the cost in taxes for unemployment and other welfare benefits a serious problem...
...But there are problems...
...The postwar economic problems of England are in part caused by the expense of the welfare system created by Labor after the war...
...Generally speaking, moreover, Belgium is hurt by producing high-priced consumer goods for export at a time when the market is far from good...
...The political stability of the Fifth Republic may be nearing an end...
...But will the Carter administration be capable of reviving the European economy by reviving the American...
...In the long run, there is little that a small export-oriented country can do alone...
...And it is hard to believe that things will improve when the working class's response to the crisis is to turn the period from Christmas to 4 January into one big de lacto holiday...
...Decisions require the assent of all major groups, not a 51 percent majority in parliament...
...An eye flickers like a flashlight on a lake...
...Each country experiences the world economic slump in its own way, but the fact remains that the basic cause of their distress is the world economic crisis...
...The Cold War made a popular front regime impossible...
...Unemployment is high there...
...But if consensus prevents the fragile balance of a divided society from being upset, it also prevents vigorous action on the part of any government...
...The Tories are captured by a female Colonel Blimp...
Vol. 104 • March 1977 • No. 6
