LONDON LETTER
Labour rule it was too early to draw conclusions. Today, in the third
year of the regime, it is becoming clear that it is squandering at a
rapid pace the good will of the electorate, the benevolent neutrality
of the common man in this country, and the sympathy and hopes of
the European Left.
If,
within the next year, the Labour movement still
retains sufficient vitality to change its leadership, both in spirit and in
body, the downhill trend may still be halted;
if
not, 1950 will see the
Conservative Party, perhaps reinforced by a few neo-Macdonaldites,
reinstated in power. The British Labour victory was the last chance of
the social democratic movement in our time; if it is lost, it means that
a Tory England allied to a Gaullist France will, for better or worse,
tackle the European problem which socialism has been unable to solve.
Arthur Koestler
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