The Nervous Neighbors

In Bonn a diplomat recalled an old Polish proverb: "The Poles and the Hungarians are brothers in blood and in drink." In London a Foreign Office expert recalled a point of history. "The Poles and the Hungarians are the rebels of Eastern Europe; they were the only ones to rise up against the Austrians in 1848."

The point of the two generalities is that, of all the satellites, Poland and Hungary have long been voted the most likely to break with their Kremlin masters. None of the others provides quite the same combination of 1) out-of-power Communist leadership with some support in the country, 2) an active and eager citizenry ready to seize opportunities. Observers in Rumania, Bulgaria and Albania reported discontent, diluted by docility, passivity and cynicism. In Czechoslovakia and East Germany, tension and ferment had the Communist rulers worried.

For the moment, however, leaders in those two countries were still firmly flying the Red flag. The Prague radio reaffirmed loyalty to the Kremlin, "our teacher and leader." And in East Berlin Premier Otto Grotewohl announced: "We are not going to change the government because it is the fashionable thing to do."

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