WesWorld

Serious danger to the Herriot government!

As the elections approach, there are indications the Herriot government may not survive them. While the memories of how the previous government manipulated tensions with Germany to line its pockets were frech, Foreign Minister briand's conciliatory approach to foreign relations was a source of strength to the government. With the tragedy in Saigon, that has reversed. The acceptance by the government of the accidental nature of the explosion aboard Palawan has given the Right a fruitful opportunity to attack the government.

For instance, former Deputy Pierre Laval, in his campaign for the Senate, made the following attack on the government in a speech at Aubreville:

"There is no doubt that France suffered heavy loss due to a perfidious attack on French ships in Saigon. The published report of the investigatory board is merely concealment for our government's spinelessness. There is no doubt, the government had in its grasp an almost miraculous opportunity to vanquish the Phillippines. They let it slip by. France weeps for it! Her heart bleeds!"

The response of the crowd was... most impressive...

The Manila Times
10 July 1927

In a response to recent inflammatory remarks in the French government, Vice-Presidente Licenciado Piña says that claims that the explosion of the cruiser Palawan in Saigon was a "perfidious attack" are "completely baseless and irrational".

In his first public statement since resigning as Foreign Minister, Señor Juan Sebastian de Varga stated: "I am disheartened to see that my fellow members of the political right in France have been deceived by their government and its cover-ups. Nevertheless, I must say that I feel some poetic justice has come in that the French Left, which was behind this dastardly attack that cost the lives of so many of our brave sailors, is now in danger of being hosted by its own petard!"

Quoted

hosted by its own petard

I now have a mental image of a French admiral sitting down to dinner with a small bomb...

The Chileans are torn in this situation. They've never particularly cared about the French, having few dealing with them aside from the domination of Spain under Napoleon, but they currently have a low opinion of the Filipinos after the last string of incidents with them.

While Chile thinks of this explosion as a tragedy, it does not dominate the news very much. The nation's sympathy goes to the families of the sailors and officers lost in Saigon.

Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing.

For now, it's all rhetoric from parties who don't hold power. If this changes, then India will start to be more concerned, but until then, the Raj has more important things to attend to...though I myself am enjoying the storyline.

Quoted

Originally posted by The Rock Doctor
Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing.

For now, it's all rhetoric from parties who don't hold power. If this changes, then India will start to be more concerned, but until then, the Raj has more important things to attend to...though I myself am enjoying the storyline.

Well put and I fully agree to your statement....