A KEY COUNTRY

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 49, 27 February 1934, Page 9

A KEY COUNTRY

POSITION OF..AUSTRIA

ALL EUROPE INTERESTED

AID FOR,.DOLLFUSS

There is a general realisation on the Continent that the independence, of Austria is vital to the maintenance of poace, writes 6. E. E. Gedye in the London "Daily Telegraph." In Great Britain there is plenty of evidence of sincere sympathy for Austria'in, her struggle, but it is sympathy of a rather moro detached kind than is felt on the 'Continent. Is the importance of this question to Great Britain as generally appreciated among Englishmen as it is among Frenchmen, Italians, and the inhabitants of Central Europe and tho Balkans? It is. hero that one can soo tho origin of .the series of diplomatic visits of tho * Rumanian Foreign Minister, M. Titulesco, to Bucharest, Belgrade, Sofia, and Ankara; of King Alexander of Yugoslavia's visits to Sinaia, Varna, and Constantinople, and of his interesting and important four days' enter-1 tainment of King Boris of Bulgaria in Belgrade. Lastly, there is the visit of tho Greek Foreign Minister, M. Maximos, to King Alexander inhis second capital, Zagreb. Fears concerning' Austria wero not tho only motive, of course. Economic distress ,aiid weariness ,of, petty interstate' strife played a great role, especialy in inducing King Boris to'consider tho advances'of tho Little Entente' States, 'Yugoslavia and Rumania. The process is likely to continue with tho meeting of tho'threo Balkan Mon-archs-—King Carol, King Alexander, and King Boris—in Sofia, and with the visit of' King Boris to King Carol. A DOUBLE PROCESS. „ .There is a double process of consolidation at ■work in Central Europe and the Balkans. First there aro the three Little Entente States, which aro seeking so to lino up as to get tho full advantage of their united populations, economic resources, and military strength. It is_ a purely selfish interest, but as tending to consolidate peace and to eliminate some of the wasteful economic cdmpetition in post-war Europe, tho move/is in.no .way .inimical,to British interests. ' " ' ' ' Tho second consolidation process, ■which started in Greece, is to bind the Balkan —and perhaps also tho lesser .Central European States—together in a series of treaties of friendship and commerce, in which would bo included the Little Entcnto States. , This is even mbro desirable from a British standpoint, for the doctrine of ''tho Balkans for tho Balkan peoples" is aimed at no counter-bloc, as is the Little Entente, but is a purely pacific attempt to eliminate-internal Balkan quarrels, which more 'than onco have set Europe—and in 1914 the world—in flames. ,l ' " It requires little imagination to sec what tho result of tho elimination of an independent Austria would be. Inevitably it would mean—under tho present circumstances —an early breakdown of European peace. The ' 'Balkan for . the Balkan peoples" doctrino would" be upset, and once more7tho big. Powers, as in 1914, .would, in'mutual distrust, bo busy sub sidising this or that, State to oppose the other, arming one against the other, anc turning .'a-'hopeful area ffor the future co-operation of States into a chessboart with those States as their pawns. -.01 'V';"/"••Ta-river: ,• ~, ' The' cost of an international loan or of economic concessions, to Austria would soon be forgotten in' the stroarr of gold and credits which thß Powers »■would then be pouring into Eastern •Europe, /to bo used, not towards consolidation, but towards disintegration. ; In th'o general realisation in Central 'Europe of the vital necessity today of maintaining Austria, • thcro is no hos.tility implied towards Germany. Tho natural ties between the Teutons inhabiting both countries are fully recognised. It may be regrottable that the two countries wero not allowed to unite in.1918. It may bo to the gcnoral fidvantago that .they should do so some years hence, whon the atmosphere i» less electric than it is today, , Among tho obstacles to immediate union there is tho comparatively minor ■ question of the horrors which tho application, of present-day Nazi doctrines would bring to Vienna. Its population of 1,800,000 includes 250,000, Jews by religion. Most of its Jews or part-Jews, however, do not adhero to the old faith. If the' Nazi test of the "maternal grandmother" wore applied in Vienna, nearly ■ half the population would 'be condemned as "jacially tainted." Something far nearer to tho horrors of a Tsarist Russian pogrom than anything which has yet happened .in Germany would probably be- the first-fruits of a collapse of Austria's independence. But apart from this, it might well prove the spark to ignite'thc Central European powder magazine, for first Czechoslovakia, and secondly her partners of the. Little Entente, would feel that they were fighting with their' backs to the jvall. SUPPORT FOR DQLLFUSS. Dr. Dollfuss has found very general sympathy abroad. It is not sympathy Folely for his likcablo personality, however, still less for tho reactionary path along'which his Fascist allies are constantly trying to.push him. It is sympathy for tho cause of tho Austriar people_ as a whole, and a desire to set their independence assured in every body's interests.' - Foreign support alono cannot holt any Government indefinitely. "Austrian Nazis declaro that, although they maj have the support of only 30 to 35 poi cent, of the population, Dr. Dollfuss has that of only 10 per cent. "Why has Dr. Dollfuss tho broadesl back in Europe?" they ask sarcastic ally, and.reply: "Bccauso ho says he has the whole Austrian people behinr him and no one can see them." ' But the Nazis admit that 65 per cent Of the population aro not with them selves. Dr. Dollfuss could add .40 pe' cent, of the country to his supporter: tomorrow—if he could bring himself t( face tho displeasure of the Austrian anc non-Austrian Fascists, and rally thi democrats around him. They aro stil numerous in Austria, though evorj month sees their numbors falling off— not into Dr. Dollfuss'a camp, but int( that of the Austrian Nazis. \ What he has .gained recently in a return'Of middle-class waverers to his fold he has probably lost three times over in the transfer of workers from the_ passive democratic into the active anti-Dollfuss Nazi camp. What statesmen and the peoples of Central Europo and tho Balkans hope today.is that theso considerations may , have full'wcight with tho German Chancellor to lead him to agree to the minimum necessary for restoring good Austro-German relations—the recognition of Austrian independence and a guarantee of non-interference in her internal politics. HIS, DREAM. A good friend of hi,s recently told me: "Apart from the Jewish question, there is no other which is a personal matter to Adolf Hitler except Austria. It is his native country. His dream was always to make Vienna, not Berlin, the centre of his Third Reich. Even today no spends every moment he can in Munich among the Bavarians, who, like tne,Anstrians, are South Germans. He has no;t yet understood how it was that

all Austria'; (except its Jews) did not unanimously fling itself at his feet when he became Chancellor. His pride is affected. He is hurt, and to such an extent does ho feel the bitterness of an exile from hisSiative land that at times it makes,all his other triumphs hollow." How far has Adolf Hitler, German Chancellor, developed the gifts of statesmanship which will enable him to triumph; over 'the' human feelings of Adolf Hitler, tho neglected Austrian agitator and demagoguo of tho old days?

To what extent is ho prepared to make personal 'sacrifices which will show the genuineness of his constant protests that ho has the same interests at heart as every other civilised State—tho preservation of the peace of Europe? His co-operation or his refusal to cooperate in fixing tho status of Austria »s an independent Central European Stato will supply the answer.