What's Good for the General So the General pulled through
after all, chastened and subdued by the experience perhaps, but I doubt it. His position in European negotia- tions should if anything now be rather stronger. No one is better received than the prodigal son returned to the fold and on Europe the General has only to hint that he is ready to make conces- sions for. the others to make concessions to him.
It is not of course only the elections which drive him to do something about Europe now. Time has been running out on him : the Five have remained united against all predictions and the Americans have recently kept quiet enough about NATO to avoid giving the French any provocation. The General's other initiatives— with Peking, Moscow, the third world—have largely come to nothing. He has to turn back to Europe now. the one stage where France real counts. His intentions have always been ke deliberately vague and he need not fear tl embarrassment of having to abandon any s position. On Europe when the General offe to give an inch, his partners will be more th ready to come to meet him. His readiness to gi anything at all could be presented as a diplomat defeat for him, but that is not how he will s it himself, and the General will be partly rig
Previous page
