The Immobilists

The most effective way for a French Premier to stay in office is to avoid hard decisions and, if possible, even forthright expressions of opinion. Under Henri Queuille, the colorless compromiser, this technique made a name for itself: L'im-mobilisme. Queuille hung on as Premier for 388 days--a record for postwar France. Last week France's postwar Premier, Joseph Laniel, was hot on Queuille's trail. By an astute and unflagging practice of immobilisme, plus luck, Laniel passed the second-best (290-day) mark, set by Antoine Pinay, his arch rival in the Independent Party. If Laniel can last another 100 days, he will beat Queuille's record; but with so much going on in Indo-China, Geneva and France, the last 100 days may be the hardest.

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