Czechoslovakia's Problems
The Czech Communists have had more • than a year In which to consolidate their political victory, and though, as long as Russian armies remain within call, there may be no reason for them to doubt the completeness of their ultimate triumph, they have quite enough troubles on their hands to keep them busy for a long time. The recent Communist Parry conference in Prague concentrated on the two main fronts on which the immediate struggle is to be waged; economic and religious. It was natural that speakers did not elaborate their country's difficulties in foreign trade, since the compulsory rejection of Marshall Aid is still too sore a point to be dwelt upon even in a gathering of the faithful ; but they could, and did, draw attention to their domestic difficulties. These are of the sort which every revolutionary regime encounters ; over- enthusiasm among the converted, and a silent lack of co-operation among those who are hostile, both of which result in production declining in quality and quantity... The situation is undoubtedly a serious one, and the shortcomings of Czech industry are probably an even greater obstacle to Russian plans for Eastern European self-sufficiency than either the defection of Yugoslavia or the general economic stagnation of Eastern Germany. Any trade agreement between this country and Czechoslovakia must be viewed in this light. The internal difficulties of the Czech Government will not be made any easier by the Kulturkiimpf with the Catholic Church, which has been brought to a head in the last week by the declarations of policy at the Communist Party Congress and the letter of the Archbishop of Prague to his clergy. As usual the focus of dispute is the schools, and between the claim of the Communist Minister of Information that the whole business of education was• the pre- rogative of the State, to be tonducted "in the spirit of Marxist-
Leninist theory," and the reiteration by the Archbishop that "the Catholic Church cannot give up its right to educate its youth," there is no room for compromise.
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