Lucky Pinay

In three months in office, Premier Antoine Pinay, unspectacular but shrewd businessman, had survived half a dozen crises, stirred the dormant patriotism of the French, and won for himself the nickname "Lucky Pinay." Last week Lucky Pinay faced a crucial vote of confidence on the echelle mobile, a troublesome issue which had plagued his two predecessors. Echelle mobile is a sliding wage scale designed to hook the wages of France's low-paid workers to the cost of living.

First, Pinay accepted the echelle mobile, which pleased the Socialists who had proposed it. Then he set the base period on which the wage increases would be figured in such a way that there would be no pay hikes right now. This pleased the rightists, but got the Socialists and the rest of the left mad. Then he strode to the tribune in the National Assembly to make a five-minute speech. In it he spoke more about the government's tough handling of Communist riots (see below) than he did about echelle mobile. He laid down a challenge: "If the majority given to the government is insufficient, it will resign and leave to others the task of facing the heavy responsibilities of the hour." Faced with such an appeal, many of the doubters on all sides rallied round. Lucky Pinay got a 42-vote majority.

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