Farewell to Winston?

Three times last week the British Cabinet met in secret session. The agenda was not the H-bomb and the state of the world, but the most tantalizing question in British politics: When will Churchill retire? With Sir Winston in the chair, a tentative decision was reached: he is to resign in the first week of April, and the Queen will ask Sir Anthony Eden to take over as Prime Minister.

The ceremonial of Churchill's retirement has been laid down in advance. On April 7, he and Lady Churchill are due to arrive in Sicily to start a vacation of sunshine and painting. Three days earlier, Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh will dine at 10 Downing Street--a most unusual occurrence. The royal banquet may therefore become the Prime Minister's farewell party.

Favorable Timing. The remaining question is whether the indomitable Churchill will go through with it. He has changed his mind before, and he is capable of changing it again; but the pressure on him is growing because the Tories plan to hold a general election this year--and they want Eden to lead them. With the Laborites bitterly divided over Rebel Aneurin Bevan (see below), the chances of a Tory victory appear greater than they have been in years. The most recent Gallup poll in the London News Chronicle gives Labor 44 1/2% of the vote (a decline of almost 3% since last November), compared with 46 1/2% for the government. This is enough, say the party managers, to increase the Tory majority in Commons from 19 to possibly 50.

The Tory rank and file, scenting Labor blood, are convinced that they can sweep the country. "Let's have a go at them," said one organizer last week. "What are we waiting for?" But the signal must come from Churchill, and last week the old man was giving a performance that suggested that he could go on forever. He tangled with Russian Foreign Minister Molotov,* scolded the U.S. for releasing the Yalta documents, then, in a workmanlike speech that glowed with grandeur and precision, slapped down a Labor attempt to censure his government. He allowed himself a gentle gibe at Laborite Clem Attlee and his followers: "I hope sincerely that the word 'followers' is the right word."

Pretexts to Stay. Talking to friends, Churchill has explained that he has stayed on largely in hopes of a cosmic conference, which would enable him to climax his career as a peacemaker. But Eisenhower's disinterest, and Malenkov's fall, have made such a parley increasingly unlikely. The Yalta documents are not calculated to increase U.S. desire for more of such personal diplomacy.

Even if Sir Winston should resign as scheduled, he has no intention of leaving the House of Commons. At 80, he has plans to travel to Russia as a "private person," just as his father did; to visit Germany and receive the Charlemagne Prize (for services to European unity) from the city of Aachen. He would continue to live at Chartwell, his lovely home in Kent, going to the House of Commons on special occasions to deliver speeches to which all the world would still listen.

* Moscow last week made public a wire that Churchill sent to Molotov last July 4: "I have not had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Malenkov or, as far as I can remember from the war years, any of your political colleagues . . . Would it appeal to you ... if we met in a friendly fashion, without agendas, for the sole purpose of trying to find a sensible way of living side by side? I beg to be informed about what you and your friends think about it." Molotov replied: "We think such a friendly contact could help." But first Geneva, then the Paris accords, intervened. The proposal petered out.

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