"Socialists" divided Breaking rank Jurope

Scan page 4

THOUGH the Left at the Labour Party conference succeeded [perhaps with the unwitting aid of a blathering intervention by Jim Callaghan] in repulsing the moves to dilute or discard the policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament, such a policy is not by any means In France, both the ruling Socialist Party and their coalition partners the Communist Party support the retention of the French nuclear strike-force — though the CP has staged protests against the new US missiles to be based elsewhere in Europe.

Frènch 'socialist' President Mitterrand gave a forthright statement of his loyalty to the weapons of French imperialism in his September 27 speech at the United Nations. Objecting to any link between US-Soviet arms talks and the French Bomb, he declared:

"It is unacceptable to include the central defence system on which the independence and survival of my country rest, with the inter• But while Mitterrand holds the line on this issue, life is less easy for West Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) leaders. While they were in government, SPD Chancellor Helmut Schmidt was a Since Schmidt was toppled from office, however, and defeated in the elections, the rank and file has increasingly begun to swing the SPD away from this policy as the peace movement has gathered It now seems certain that the SPD conference on November 18 will see a break from Schmidt's line — and thus deliver a setback to Already eight of the SPD's 11 state parties have categorically opposed the NATO deployments, and brushed aside pleas from Vogel to leave the matter open until negotiations on arms control universal across Europe. dogged defender of NATO and its arms drive.

momentum.

No. 27 September the women s Paper of for Women's wait! = 17» The ce election of the f-..mestug in the long run are the pressures that -•CO agine der sertie can ess denomids and fall in

----- pull-quotes -----

the Party's leader, Hans Jochen Vogel. end'on November 15.