The Evening Star TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1932. THE GERMAN ELECTIONS.

Evening Star, Issue 21170, 2 August 1932, Page 8

The Evening Star TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1932. THE GERMAN ELECTIONS.

Oni.y one thing is certain about the result of the German elections, and that is that it might have been worse. Herr Hitler’s followers, even with the addition of the Nationalists, have not secured a majority, and workers for stability in Europe will be relieved, therefore, of their most immediate dread. The Nazis failed appreciably to carry further' the advances they had made in the various State elections, leaving room to hope that the momentum of their recent amazing progress has now exhausted itself. If that proves to be the case, it will not have happened too soon. There were 107 Nazis in the Reichstag which began its life something less than two y'ears ago, and their number will be more than doubled in the new House, in which they will be much the largest party. The Communists have increased their strength at the expense of the Socialists, who come next in influence, but it is not in Parliament that the Communists are most dangerous. The Nationalist Party, of less than forty by those returns, would have been much larger, no doubt, if the vogue of Hitlerism had not diverted its most natural recruits into the noisier fold. It is not easy now to see how a Government is to be formed out of this confusion of parties. The Hitlerites, who have been profoundly chagrined at the result, announce that they will refuse to join any coalition Government. That would leave it open for the Von Papen Ministry to continue to govern with their support, provided it could gain sufficient supporters from other factions to assure it of a majority. That prospect at the moment is not promising. Dr Bruening, it is understood, might have avoided his dismissal by the President if he had sought assistance from the Right, when that gave promise of being the coming party, but he would not work witli the Conservatives, preferring his alliance with the Socialists. The probabilities are that that will be still his attitude. But the Socialists and Centre Party seem to have even less chance of forming a stable Government between them than Von Papen and his friends. If no party can carry on using the parliamentary machine, there must be a dictatorship for the Reich, such as already exists in Prussia. That would be a reactionary development, provocative of strong resentment in many quarters, hut there were times when Dr Bruening’s Government was a dictatorship in all but name. Germany has had so much experience, however, of what might be thought to be unworkable Reichstags that if there is any way out of the difficulty she may be trusted to find it. The Nationalists’ diagnosis of the trend of politics immediately before these last elections was that a strong movement to the Right was taking place throughout the whole of Germany. The Centre*, on which the last Guvcni-

meut relied, was collapsing. The Left, owing to the strength of the Communists, was incapable of governing. That judgment has been fairly well confirmed, except that the Centre—Dr Bruening’s party—has not collapsed. It has slightly increased its strength. The best outlook for Germany will be when Dr Bruening is in a position to take control again.