Word: gaullist
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...life, Charles de Gaulle has pondered the mystique of power. Last week, true to his own egocentric reasoning, he applied his maxims in a government shift that dumfounded his countrymen, angered the Gaullist party and raised doubts in France about the wisdom of his future policy. In what was perhaps the most ungracious ouster of a head of government since Germany's Wilhelm II fired Bismarck in 1890, De Gaulle dropped his old friend and loyal helper, Georges Pompidou, as Premier. As his replacement, De Gaulle tapped his longtime Foreign Minister, Maurice Couve de Murville, a suave aristocrat...
...Pompidou. At the height of the May riots, it was Pompidou who kept the government running, cooled the strife between the security forces and the rebellious students, and got the workers back to their jobs. After that, he masterminded the amazingly successful election campaign that won for Gaullists the largest parliamentary majority that any government has held in nearly 100 years. In the process, Pompidou, who had never held a political office before he became Premier six years ago, gained considerable political stature in France. He became, in fact, the first Gaullist politician to develop an identity...
Less Friendly. After a few days of indecision, De Gaulle followed Pompidou's advice-with excellent results. By the time the campaign started, De Gaulle was already thinking about post-election strategy. If the election produced only a small Gaullist majority, De Gaulle planned to keep on Pompidou for several months at least in order to use his expert parliamentary guidance for shepherding De Gaulle's reform bills through the National Assembly. Unwittingly, Pompidou hastened his own exit by engineering an election landslide. After the first round of voting indicated that the Gaullists would win handsomely, the general...
...were racing about Paris, but the Elysée remained noncommittal. Finally, on Tuesday, Pompidou was summoned to the palace to receive the word in person from De Gaulle, and their exchange of correspondence was released to the press. Then Pompidou went to a caucus of the newly elected Gaullist Deputies in the National Assembly. Most of them were angry that a vote getter as effective as Pompidou had been sidetracked in favor of a man who is anything but a crowd pleaser. But Pompidou, though he was bitterly hurt by De Gaulle's treatment, remained loyal...
Couve is a unusual man in an unusual situation. He has neither a political following nor the flair for creating one. He does not even have any special clout within the Gaullist party. His power resides solely in his relationship with the man whom he serves-a fact that must please De Gaulle. Up to now, Couve has always acknowledged that he knew who was boss. "There are no problems between myself and the general," he once said. "If there were, my role would be to yield to him." But last week Couve hinted that he would stand...