NEW FRENCH CABINET

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23011, 12 April 1938, Page 10

NEW FRENCH CABINET

Bather contrary to expectation M. Daladier has succeeded in forming a Cabinet and thus providing France with a Government which cannot be regarded as more than a stop-gap. Six of its members, including M. Daladier himself, were in the Blum Cabinet which it has replaced. This alone is an indication of the way in which grouping and compromise are necessary if any Government is to be formed, the position resulting from the multitude of parties, and their unstable equilibrium. The conventional or oldtimo British conception of party Government, in which two main groups dominate the situation, has many disadvantages. Almost everything its critics can say about it is true in theory, but it has one supreme advantage. It works, and when the electorate gives a clear verdict there is a prospect of undisturbed administration until another election alters the balance of power. The only risk of stalemate is when strength is too evenly divided, so that neither side can be sure of a safe majority in emergency. In theory, and often in practice, the ready remedy of a dissolution and a new election is then applied. Actually, under the French constitution it is possible for Parliament to be dissolved if a Government cannot be formed, but in practice the procedure is almost unknown. If it were tried, the plethora of parties would still stand in the way of any better outcome than the last election produced. Meantime, if the new Government is given the plenary powers for six months that it seeks, there may be that measure of breathing space; but there is no guarantee that at the end of the period normal methods will be possible with any greater promise of stability.