“LESS IDEOLOGICAL” WAR

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24329, 7 August 1944, Page 3

“LESS IDEOLOGICAL” WAR

♦ ■— MR CHURCHILL’S REMARKS CRITICISED ZiOirropN. -Au*. 3. Commenting on Mr Churchill's state-/ ment about the war having/ ‘.become : less ideological in character,” ..the “Daily Herald” says; “Mr speech—so encouraging and so, inspiring in its survey of the military sitw- • tion—suffered from disturbing, familiar vagueness in its reference to the polltical outlook” , < ’. j ... Saying that Mr Churchill tried ms time to forestall opposition by accusing his critics of ‘mixing ideology, with idealism, 1 the “Daily Herald” adds; “This is mere bandying of .words—sport at which we should not care to challenge so mighty a master of-the: language as Mr Churchill” ■: .. . The: paper recalls Mr Churchill’s “tender kind regards to General Franco,” and says that yesterday he “rejoiced to see. the Fascist, ideology f overthrown in Italy and he looked forward to seeing the Nazi, ideology beaten to the ground. But he is ‘ still apparently indifferent to the fact\ that an admiring imitator of' Fascism and Nazism is the ruler of Spain.' There is still an unpleasant suggestion of expediency as opposed to principle about some aspects of the Allied policy.” The "News Chronicle.” while approving the speech,-refers to the same point. It -says that only in one respect did Mr Churchill’s survey falter, The paper asks what he means by “war _ becoming less ideological He states that our aim is a new brotherhoods based on the broad, human ideals of peace and freedom,” adds the paper. “If this is not the ideology of demo- , cracy, what is it? There must be np v letting up in our original purpose to reassert the fundamental values of human freedom in the world we are about to rebuild,”

Observing that in his speech on May 24 “Mr Churchill ventured a little unhappily into foreign policy,” the "Manchester Guardian,” says: “Yesterday he went a long way to - redress what seemed to most of us his errors of emphasis. Not even the most hypercritical American Liberal will be able to discover crypto-fascism in his words. That ambiguous phrase about the war having ‘become less ideological in character,’ is explained away as meaning only his hope that instead of warring about doctrines we are moving towards ‘broad, simple, homely ideate of peace, justice, and freedom.’ We may share the hope at any rate. After yesterday the most ideologically minded of us must not' despair that when the final decisions have to be taken we shall find Mr Churchill expounding and acting on the great European Liberal tradition.”