ABOUT
By Pierre Frank
PARIS -- The leadership of the French Communist party decided to send a delegation to Moscow after hearing that Khrushchev had been deposed,
‘“Tt cannot be said that in deciding to send a delegation we changed our attitude toward the CP of the Soviet Union due to our Political Bureau being pushed into it despite itself," Secretary General Waldeck Rochet said at a press conference October 23,
The remark was not needed. The Political Bureau's first declaration, dated Octover 16, actually contained no reference to the "methods" or the "conditions" of Khrushchev!s ouster, still less did it say anything about sending a delegation to Moscow. It dealt only with the need to continue the policy being followed by the CP of the USSR. Three days later, 1l'Humanité published an: editorial signed by Fajon, a member of the Political Bureau. Here, too, nothing was said about the methods, the conditions, involved in Khrushchev's removal, Fajon did say in alluding to the interest in the affair among the ranks of the French Communist party:
"Tt [the Political Bureau] sought to stress that if. the French Communists are keenly interested in the decisions taken by their Soviet comrades, their major: concern is to see that their own decisions become effective."
And they are concerned about the combat for peace, social struggles, the next municipal elections. » « and "the international activity of the Party." uo
But this attempt at creating a diversion had little success among members of the French Communist party. On October 21, the — Political Bureau made a new decision, justifying it as follows:
“While holding that what is ‘most important is the pursuit and consistent application of this political line [peaceful coexistence], the PB of the FCP nevertheless desired to obtain the most “complete information and the necessary explanations concerning the conditions and the methods by which the changes that had been decided on by the CC of the Communist party of the Soviet Union were carried out. That is why the PB decided to ask the Central Committee of the CP of the Soviet Union to receive a delegation from the FCP."
It can be seen why Waldeck Rochet felt compelled to ‘ay the PB had not been pushed; the facts clearly prove it.
The leadership of the French Communist party, it will be noted, had to go to Moscow to ask for explanations. . . from the:
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authors of the successful coup. .This:.is because, as Waldeck Rochet said in the same press conference, "the PB wanted to act without haste, taking account of the facts as a serious party must." In Paris, naturally, a "serious party" cannot see that the Soviet workers know no more than the ‘members of the PB about the conditions and the methods involved in the change of leadership in the party and the state. In Paris-they cannot see the absence of democracy in the Soviet Union. They are so serious that they knock only at the right door. Fhey don't want to hear anything from the old leaders that would contradict the new ones -- such methods aren't to be dreamed” of in the French Communist party!
However timorous the decision of the Political Bureau, it ts nevertheless a daring step for this leadership; they have never done anything but line up with Moscow. Possibly it is a compromise between members of the Political’ Bureau who want something formal to support their position as "ves-men" and others who would prefer a more reserved attitude. ee ,
There were signs on the eve of a Central Committee meeting the first part of October that some members of the Political Bureau were hostile to holding the scheduled conference of twenty-s1x"” parties, advancing reasons quite similar to those of the Italians, The ‘other members of the Political Bureau carried their own view, even | committing the party to go to the end against the Chinese. -
This leadership now finds itself in an extremely embarrassing position. Not only did it take-a very aggressive position © against the Chinese before October 14, condemning what Togliatti had said in his testament, but even two days after:learning of — Khrushchev's ouster, 1'Humanité condemned the Chinese nuclear test; and, at the Mouvement de la Paix [Peace Movement], Souquiéres, the French Communist party representative, added a condemnation of the Chinese to a‘resolution which was reproduced in Pravda with the exception of his offending paragraph.
In addition, at its last Central Committee meeting, the leadership of the French Communist party declared once more that it approved the policy of neutrality proposed by de Gaulle for Vietnam, while Pravda, immediately after the new leadership was in= stalled, let it be known that the Soviet conception of neutrality in that part of the world is different from de Gaulle's,.
The Khrushehev affair comes shortly after the death of Thorez, who was succeeded by a weak leadership, people lacking authority both “among themselves and in the party. The crisis that has long been smoldering in the French Communist party has again been stirred. The day it flares up in a big way has without doubt been brought much closer.
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