Ext 6116/46(S) 'Secret Weekly Political Intelligence Summaries, nos 356-416, August 1946-November 1947' [‎6v] (12/978)

8
the most respected members of the resis
tance movement has thus, at least tem
porarily, disappeared from the Rigsdag.
The candidate of the German minority who
contested the same constituency as M.
Moller was also defeated though he polled
7.000 votes.
The defeat of the Communists was per
haps more due to events outside Denmark
—Soviet tactics at international con
ferences, the execution of M. Petkov, and
the setting up of Cominform—than to
anything which the Danish Communists
themselves are responsible for, but it is
obvious now that the clash with the leader
ship of the trades union movement at the
time of the printers’ strike in the spring
did not benefit the Party.
The gains made by Venstre are less easily
accounted for, but it certainly seems as if
M. Kristensen’s pronouncements on South
Schleswig have had a wider echo through
out the country than was expected. Other
factors also favoured the Government party
during the weeks immediately preceding
the elections and it is to be feared that the
Government’s decision in allowing the
farmers a free hand in the price negotia
tions with the British—which led to the
regrettable breakdown—must be included
among these.
The temptation to account for the
success of the Social Democrats merely by
setting up a simple equation showing that
their gains equal the nine seats forfeited
by the Communists is great, and though it
may be over-simplifying the issue the
probabilities are that this is in fact largely
what happened.
The Danish Union, which had four seats
in the Folketing, suffered complete parlia
mentary extinction showing that the
Party’s extremist demands for the imme
diate incorporation of South Schleswig in
Denmark lacked every vestige of popular
appeal.
Norway
A reconstruction of the Norwegian
Government took place last week, and
includes the establishment of a new Minis
try of Trade which will be headed by the
former Minister of Finance, M. Brofoss.
The new duties of M. Brofoss are not alto
gether unlike those of Sir Stafford Cripps
in Britain, and his responsibilities will
include the control of foreign exchange,
imports and exports and the drawing up of
the '• national" budget as distinct from
the fiscal estimates. Based upon the
interim Economic Control Bill passed
earlier in the year (see Summary No. 399)
the powers of the new Minister will be con
siderable and his activities will also, it is
understood, include the instigation of trade
negotiations with foreign countries in con
junction with the Foreign Ministry.
M. Brofoss’s successor at the Ministry of
Finance is M. O. Meisdalshagen, a coJJ
paratively young man who formerly was a
member of the Storting Finance Committee.
Other changes include the replacement
of the Minister of Supply, M. O. Torp, by
M. O. Oksvik, and the appointment of
M. N. Honsvald as Minister of Agriculture
in the place of M. Kristian Fjeld who is
resigning owing to poor health. M. Torp
will assume the duties of Chairman of the
Labour Party group in the Storting upon
leaving the Cabinet.
LOW COUNTRIES
Belgium
Reviewing domestic and foreign policy
before the Belgian Socialist Party Congress
last week, M. Spaak, the Prime Minister,
attributed his country’s prosperity to five
factors :—first, insufficient time for the
Germans to carry out their plan of whole
sale industrial destruction; secondly, M.
Camille Gutt’s financial plan [on which
policy is still based]; thirdly, payment in
dollars by the U.S. for everything sold or
delivered by Belgium; fourthly, the c £ hard
working and resourceful character ” of the
Belgian people; fifthly, the leading position
occupied by the Socialist Party in post
liberation Cabinets [a statement which,
however, is only partially true]. Despite a
financial situation which was “ better even
than last year,” M. Spaak admitted the
great difficulties with which the Govern
ment was faced regarding wages and
prices : the latter he frankly described
as the ” Achilles’ heel of Government
policy.” So far there had been ££ no
marked reduction” in prices; and the
position had not been improved by the effect
on agriculture of a severe winter followed
by a drought and a general rise in inter
national prices. With regard to food, M.
Spaak believed that the time was ap^
proaching when the nation would £ £ ones
again be able to live comfortably on current
food supplies.” He would, however, put in
a plea for increased production. Turning
to foreign policy, he said that Belgium’s
position had to be viewed against the back
ground of a world on the verge of
collapse.” To those who contended that
the world had been ” split into two blocs,”
he would say that there was “no bloc—