Smiling Again

For a tall man, France's Charles de Gaulle has mastered a difficult diplomatic trick: the art of stooping without actually bending an inch. He likes to employ it whenever his allies get particularly incensed at his prideful, nationalistic policies, since it invariably produces a smile of relief all around without changing anything. Last week, as the 15 ministers of the NATO Council assembled in London to a fanfare from six trumpeters of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. De Gaulle, though not present himself, was at his stooping best.

Knee Flexing. His timing was, of course, superb, since nearly everyone was mad at him. British Prime Minister Harold Wilson bluntly told the council that "no nation, however great, can think in terms of going it alone, without allies and without regard for world opinion." Belgium's Paul-Henri Spaak was just as pointed, warning that "whatever makes nations retire within themselves, out of a somewhat old-fashioned pride, is out of date and will ultimately prove illusory." Even before the meeting opened, Ludwig Erhard in a speech relayed via Early Bird to the U.S. but meant in part for the Elysee Palace, said: "We learned the bitter lesson that power politics guided by excessive nationalist feelings is doomed to failure. Europe cannot be German, French or Russian."

So le grand Charles flexed his knees. Suddenly. France sweetly agreed to a draft statement on German reunification that emphasized U.S. concern in the matter. This was a sharp reversal from earlier French insistence that reunification was primarily a "European" concern. Shrugged De Gaulle's official spokesman: It was never his government's intention "to remove the U.S. from a solution of the German problem." What was more, the French gently papered over their differences with the U.S. on policy in Viet Nam and the Dominican Republic. Fortnight ago, Paris was hinting it intended to recognize the Dominican rebels; last week France announced without a trace of embarrassment that it never recognized "governments," only "states."

Longhanding. De Gaulle's unhappiest ally was undoubtedly Erhard, who has been buffeted for weeks by a series of ill foreign winds. One from the Middle East finally blew itself out last week with the formalization of diplomatic relations between West Germany and Israel--a historic decision that surprisingly drew hardly a squeak from the Arabs. Another has been Erhard's deteriorating relations with Treaty Partner France. But from the Elysee Palace came another balm--a friendly longhand letter from De Gaulle saying he would be glad to move up the date of his next meeting with Erhard. De Gaulle even implied he would be glad to talk about German reunification.

For his part, Erhard, though gratified, made it plain that the chat might not be as pleasant for the general as their last, where De Gaulle airily promised new impetus to European integration, on which he has since reneged. Erhard intends to talk tough--and pointedly disclosed at week's end that before he saw De Gaulle he was going to the U.S. for a chat with Lyndon Johnson.

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