Face the Music

The Eden government won its victory in the House of Commons, against the Socialists in front of them and Tory critics behind them, but the sniping against Sir Anthony Eden continued. Privately, Eden was as much condemned in the lobbies of Westminster for his absence--from exhaustion, nerves or whatever--as for his misfortunes.

Randolph Churchill, who can be counted upon to put most snidely what others may be thinking, compared Eden's generalship with Hitler's conduct in leading his troops to Stalingrad and leaving them there, except that "Hitler, with all his faults, did not winter in Jamaica." The Conservative Daily Telegraph reported Eden in Jamaica keeping in "fitful touch with London." which was not "fair to his colleagues in London--or, indeed, to the country." In the bars of Fleet Street and the clubs of St. James's, Eden's future and a possible realignment of Tory, leadership were the universal topics of conversation.

To Tory Randolph Churchill, it was clear that Eden, like the Suez forces, was planning a "phased withdrawal" from politics. But the lack of an undisputed successor in the true-blue Tory line made this difficult at the moment: the closest rivals were the acting Prime Minister, Richard A. Butler, and Chancellor of the Exchequer Harold Macmillan--Rab Butler's claims to be first in line could not be lightly set aside, but some of the Tories most desirous of a change did not want to change to him, and it was to Butler's interest to keep Eden in office until such time as the succession could be uncontroversially agreed upon.

To quiet all the talk of change, No. 10 Downing Street declared that Eden would return from Jamaica this week and had no intention of resigning. The reins of government, said Rab Butler, would be "handed back" to Eden immediately, adding with a characteristic nuance that Eden "would wish to face the music."

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