No one in France can fill the bill better than General de Gaulle. During World War II, when Hitler's forces occupied a good part of France, even the highly revered Marshal Henry Philippe Pétain succumbed to the blandishments of the conqueror and allowed himself to be used as chief of the Vichy government. De Gaulle's government in exile established in London was the only rallying point for all the patriotic, freedom-loving Frenchmen. It is his government which not only epitomized the undying French spirit but also perpetuated the legality of a government which the whole world later recognized.
A wave of abnormal psychology set in after the war in many of the free countries, and people somehow were tired of the leaders who led them through the dark hours of fighting. Just like his wartime colleague, Winston Churchill of Britain, de Gaulle had to step down from the position of power shortly after peace had been concluded. Churchill, however, had his second chance while de Gaulle has been living in semi-retirement ever since. It is true that some members of his party have been participating in the government all along, but he himself has been kept at arm's length from the government.
De Gaulle's job for the moment is far from enviable. First of all, he will have to find some way to revise the constitution to make it possible for his countrymen to have a more stable form of government. There is little question that the present form of the French legislative body is very sensitive to the will of the people. Under ideal conditions, the French National Assembly of Deputies can give quick, immediate expression to the wishes of the people as no other republican form of government can. But due to the exuberance of emotionalism of the French people, the cabinet is in constant danger of being voted out of office by the deputies. Oftentimes at the most critical moments in history, France had to flounder for a long period of time without a government. General de Gaulle would be once again rendering great service to his country if during this hour of danger he could give the French people a new government - one that is adequate to meet the emergencies of the atomic age.
Another important question that demands his immediate attention is one connected with the Algerian situation. The question is so complicated that it will tax to the utmost all the ingenuity of the general and his advisers to find a satisfactory solution. Fortunately for the general, he is no stranger to the Algerian scene, for he had spent more than a year in Algeria where he moved his government in exile from London during the later part of the war.
In all his actions, de Gaulle will have to fight against the strong opposition of the Communists. The Communists polled in the 1956 election 144 of the 627 seats of the French National Assembly of Deputies, thus forming the largest group in that body. They will mobilize everything they have to frustrate the general's attempt to bring order to the country and stability to the government. The battle will be as violent as it is inevitable. All the friends of France wish the general well and that he will come out on top.