Father of France

Chapter 154 The New Government

It's not impossible for Italy to follow the path of France, given that the French Communist Party has only a million members on paper, while the Italian Communist Party boasts two million.

France and Italy have roughly the same population, but the Italian Communist Party is twice as powerful as the French Communist Party. The Italian Communist Party, which won a landslide victory in local elections, along with the Socialist Party, is practically a replica of present-day France.

Following this local election, the political landscape in Italy has begun to emerge. Similar to France, left-wing parties hold an absolute advantage, with the Socialist Party being the largest party, followed by the right-wing Catholic Democratic Party. The Communist Party is the most organized party, resulting in a three-way balance of power between the left and right.

The election results in this region immediately gave Walter Dowling, the U.S. State Department official in charge of Mediterranean affairs, a real scare. Compared to a similar situation in France, the situation in Italy might be even worse in the future.

Therefore, after a brief period of consideration, Walter Dowling decided to seek the support of American conservatives. Currently, the two conservative leaders in the US Congress are Taft and Vandenberg. As for the current Democratic President Truman, considering the strong left-wing influence left by the Democratic Party during the Roosevelt era, it remains to be seen whether Truman will be able to break free from the interference of Roosevelt's legacy within the Democratic Party.

Therefore, Walter Dowling did not dare to tell Truman his thoughts directly, but hoped that these two conservative leaders could speak out and persuade Truman to change his non-interventionist stance towards Europe.

Recently, the Iron Curtain speech and the Iran crisis have put American political commentators in a frenzy. Americans have begun to feel that the brief honeymoon period with the Soviet Union during World War II should end, as the Soviet Union is a long-term strategic adversary of the United States after the war. This view is especially supported by conservatives.

Progressives, of course, did not think so, especially Wallace, the successor favored by President Roosevelt, who had served two terms as vice president and had a large following in the Democratic Party.

Wallace gained widespread grassroots support for his agricultural reforms and progressive ideas, earning him the nickname "trust blaster" among American capitalists. Although he was shockingly excluded from the race at the 1944 Chicago Democratic National Convention, he still maintained a large following within the Democratic Party.

Wallace's supporters might sway Truman's resolve, so Walter Dowling approached Republican bigwigs. From his perspective, Republicans and Democrats were not really at odds in most areas, except for a few limited issues of racial segregation in the South.

Cross-party cooperation is also possible, which is a characteristic of many electoral countries in this era. The British Labour Party and Conservative Party even advocate a concept called consensus politics.

After successfully meeting with Taft and Vandenberg, Walter Dowling detailed the dangers of the current Italian political scene: "The Mediterranean and Italy are core interests of the United States. We should provide full assistance to pro-American parties in Italy in terms of economy, military, politics, technology, and propaganda. Otherwise, we may face the emergence of the Soviet Union in the Mediterranean when the parliamentary elections come around."

However, Taft and Vandenberg hesitated upon hearing this. The Republican Party was indeed conservative, but it also had another characteristic: isolationism.

Walter Dowling capitalized on Republican concerns about Soviet influence, but Republican politicians were far less responsive than Democrats when it came to providing full aid.

Therefore, Taft resolutely rejected Walter Dowling's idea of ​​providing full assistance, which greatly surprised the enthusiastic Walter Dowling, who couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Taft, why?"

“Because there are other ways to do it,” Taft replied indifferently. “We can use our own laws to intervene indirectly. We can invoke the 1921 Restriction on Immigration Act and threaten that any Italian Communist Party member will not be granted an immigration visa, their family members will be implicated, and those already residing in the United States will be deported.”

“But,” Walter Dowling still wanted to try, because the immigration bill alone was not enough to turn the tide for the Italian Catholic Democratic Party.

"There are no buts. Achieving bipartisan consensus won't be achieved in a short time." General Vandenberg helplessly advised Walter Dowling to stop trying to persuade him. The Republican Party's rejection of foreign aid couldn't be convinced by Walter Dowling's few words.

Both the Democratic and Republican parties have their own principles and objections, and it's impossible to reach a consensus through backroom deals in just a few days; there must be some exchange of interests involved.

There is currently no consensus among Republicans to provide full aid to European countries, especially since the Democratic Party is in power. Walter Dowling, an expatriate, is oversimplifying the issue.

In France, another example of what Republican heavyweight Taft cited as a negative example, a national referendum is underway, with Georges Pitoull, leader of the Popular Republican Movement, challenging the left-wing coalition on the issue of parliamentary system.

The center of state power, as stipulated in the Constitution of the Fourth Republic, was neither the Prime Minister nor the President, the head of state, but the National Assembly.

French political parties have a short history. Among the three major parties in the current parliament, the Socialist Party has the longest history, having been established in 1902. The French Communist Party has long been in a position of being suppressed and has no experience in governing.

The People's Republican Movement is a relatively new party, and the short duration of its existence means that many members of parliament lack loyalty to their party.

The left-wing coalition doesn't have an absolute majority; just a few defections could paralyze the French parliament. The abstention of many delegates in the National Assembly elections illustrates this point.

Because no single party holds an absolute majority in parliament, each party holds its own views on the policies proposed by the government, making it difficult to reach a consensus. Parliament is often paralyzed due to endless debates.

In exchange for the support of the right wing and centrists for the bill, Prime Minister Félix Gouan accepted Georges Pitoure's condition: to submit the bill directly to a vote by all citizens. He was betting on the French people's desire for reason.

Streets and alleys, cafes, and factory workshops were filled with shouts of "Oppose!" The political rallies initiated by the People's Republican Movement were massive, and such rallies were always enthusiastically received in old revolutionary areas. The French took the participatory approach to the extreme.

Long lines formed at the polling stations, people's expressions serious, as if they were deciding the fate of the nation rather than choosing the future of a policy. The results were announced that very night, with a brutal speed.

More than 57 percent of voters said "no" to the left-wing coalition's constitutional reform plan.

The unicameral parliament plan was rejected, and many people began to celebrate, their faces beaming with the joy of victory. France had once again demonstrated how democracy could triumph.

Because his proposed constitutional draft was rejected, Felix Gouan submitted his and his cabinet's resignations. His government, the cause he had fought for, and the already fragile stability of the Fourth Republic's government collapsed with a collective "no" from the citizens.

The first government after de Gaulle's resignation came to an end, lasting four months.

The aftershocks of the referendum results were still reverberating through every nerve of the republic. Georges Pidul, leader of the People's Republican Movement, used the referendum results as a backing to begin forming a new government.

George Pidul, dressed in a dark suit and with a serious expression, shook hands and spoke in hushed tones with representatives of each party. The negotiations took place behind closed doors, and the deal was struck amidst the smoke of coffee and cigarettes.

The seasoned leader incorporated a mix of centrist technocrats. Key departments, particularly overseas colonies and defense, were handed over to hardliners.

After being questioned by the National Assembly and subjected to a vote of confidence, George Pitoure officially took office as the new prime minister.

Standing on the parliamentary platform, he delivered a speech emphasizing "order, authority, and the greatness of France," declaring, "I have entrusted the General Staff of the Army to advance into northern French Indochina and reclaim sovereignty over the region."

General Dracon, Chief of the General Staff of the Army, issued an order from the General Staff to reclaim all of French Indochina. General Leclerc, commander of the French Expeditionary Force in Southeast Asia, quickly replied, "The French forces in French Indochina are currently conducting military operations on Java. At this time, there are insufficient troops to move north and reclaim northern French Indochina. Reinforcements are needed."

France was in dire need of reconstruction and had limited troop deployment capabilities. The French Indochina forces were mainly a small contingent led by General Sandney, who were ordered to accept the surrender of the Japanese army and restore French rule.

Even if General Leclerc later led an expeditionary force, the French army in French Indochina now numbered only over 60,000.

This force was barely enough to hold its ground in southern French Indochina, but if it were to advance into the north, where the Viet Minh were powerful, things would be different now; it was no longer the 19th century.

General Leclerc wouldn't be that foolish, otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to Koeman's plan to arm the Catholics.

"The General Staff will transfer troops from other colonies to French Indochina." General Dracon quickly responded to the issue of troop reinforcements, initially estimating that the size of the French army in French Indochina would be increased to more than 100,000.

Even with an army of 100,000, it would still be insufficient for the vast territory of French Indochina. Given that French Indochina's total area exceeds that of Ukraine, and its population is roughly the same, if Russia's 200,000 troops couldn't conquer Ukraine, how could 100,000 French troops possibly stabilize order in French Indochina?

But that's all France can do right now. Any more than that would be beyond the financial resources France, which is already in a recovery phase.

“It’s not like there’s no way out. Didn’t Chiang Kai-shek tear up the peace agreement and launch a full-scale offensive? Recently, the left-wing coalition won a landslide victory in the Italian elections. Isn’t that true?” Koeman compiled some irrefutable evidence of the Soviet Union’s subversion of the international order. “Domestically, we should have a good talk with the United States to see if they can cover the expenses of the French army in French Indochina.”

(End of this chapter)