Bonnet's Last Chance

Newsmen who cover Premier Edouard Daladier's office have long known that the Premier and his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georges Bonnet, are not on the best of political terms. A story which gave an interesting line on each came out of Paris last week. Fundamental difference between the two is that M. Bonnet is an ardent appeaser of dictators, and dreams of being the central figure in a great general European "settlement," while M. Daladier has decided, at least temporarily, to yield no more to Germany and Italy.

Three weeks ago the Foreign Minister ended a long Chamber of Deputies debate on foreign policy by half-heartedly reading a strong anti-appeasement speech written for him. M. Daladier, on the other hand, thrilled the Chamber by an extemporaneous talk in which he declared that France would fight rather than satisfy Benito Mussolini's demands for French territory.

Later on, M. Bonnet set out to sabotage the Daladier fight talk. In an "off-the-record" lecture to nine French political reporters, some well-known in Paris as tipsters for foreign embassies, the Foreign Minister censured the French press for its treatment of the "Italian question," warned that it would bring Italian bombs "on our heads" and declared, in effect, that there was much to be said for the Italian claims to Tunisia, Corsica, Djibouti, the Suez Canal.

Although French newspapers only hinted at the gist of M. Bonnet's talk, British newsorgans picked up the lecture and were soon printing the details in full. British Ambassador Sir Eric Phipps fortnight ago called on M. Daladier for an explanation. Angered, M. Daladier called in Foreign Minister Bonnet, gave him a talking to, warned him that another such "blunder" would cost him his job. Then came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a sonorous denial that the original Bonnet interview had ever taken place, which few, and least of all the foreign embassies, believed.

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