Pols and Pals

A blast at U.S. envoys

John J. Louis Jr., the U.S. Ambassador to Britain, "owes his place in life to the fact that his parents founded a furniture-polish dynasty [Johnson Wax]. His only qualification is that he speaks English."

The main qualification of Ambassador to France Evan Galbraith "is that he speaks French and is a friend of Giscard d'Estaing, who is out of power and is considered the archenemy of [Francois Mitter rand] the man who is running the country." Ambassador to Italy Maxwell Rabb is an "eminent lawyer who speaks no Italian." As for Ambassador to Mexico John Gavin, he is "a Hollywood actor, and not a very good one at that."

The author of these grumpy assessments is Malcolm Toon, 65, a retired foreign service officer who served as Ambassador to Israel and the Soviet Union during his 33-year career. In an interview with the Foreign Service Journal, Toon charged that President Reagan is using major diplomatic posts as a "dumping ground" for cronies and financial backers.

Complained Toon, who was replaced in Moscow by former IBM Chairman Thomas Watson in 1979: "We do not have to accept the poor sort of talent we have seen over the past year."

The tradition of Presidents' rewarding their followers with ambassadors' credentials has long been a morale problem for career diplomats. Reagan has not helped matters: of his 100 nominations so far, 48 have been political appointees, while about 40% of Jimmy Carter's first year ambassadorial choices were nonprofessionals.

The real question about diplomats is not what they used to be but how well they are doing now, and on this score, Toon's critiques appear to be mostly wide of the mark. In London, Ambassador Louis is well liked by the Foreign Office and respected by his own career subordinates as a hard worker. Galbraith, a former banker, is considered by many in Paris to be the right kind of conservative to represent a business-oriented Administration to the new Socialist government.

Despite his language gap, Rabb is regarded by other Western diplomats in Rome as energetic and highly visible, if somewhat unversed in Italian politics and culture. Toon, however, may have a point about the standoffish Gavin, who keeps a low profile and is known for his hot tem per in dealing with staff and press. Refer ring to his country's best-known comedian, one Mexican official suggested:

"Maybe we should have sent Cantinflas to Washington."

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