The Immobilist

In September 1948, Paris cartoonists pictured a mousy little man rushing to his buggy with whip and stethoscope in hand. France had just formed its fourth government in seven weeks. The cartoonists knew that the new Premier, Henri Queuille, had been a country doctor, but, although he had been a cabinet minister many times, they did not know much else about him. M. Queuille is in fact a man who does not hurry if he can help it.

Last week Henri Queuille finished a full year in office. It was the first time since liberation that any Premier had done so.

M. Queuille came in at a good time, when turmoil was dying down. His predecessor Robert Schuman had already blunted the main Communist attack; in his first weeks in office, Queuille dealt effectively with Communist coal strikes. Schuman had started a wholesome drive for deflation, which Queuille continued. The Marshall Plan helped. Last week the franc was stronger, the national debt was slightly down, and industrial production (115% of 1938 when Queuille took office) was up to 130%. M. Queuille's critics call him "The Immobilist" because he so often finds it expedient to do nothing. Last week he attributed his success to the fact that he gave France "a breathing spell"--just when she needed it.

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