Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-12-01
Europe Suddenly Becomes
Deeply Interested in Nixon

President is the only natural
leader for this co-ordinated effort,
they feel.
1t means, Europeans say, the
American President now has more
work to dc. not less.
A London sales clerk said: mr..
Eisenhower has no choice but 10
retire now. But what is this Nixon
fellow like?"
This is big question over here.
At Paris dinner party. guests as
sumed Mr.. Eisenhower was out,
but no one could say much about
the presumed heir, Mr.. Nixon. Il
think he had something to do with
Senator Mccarthy" was the best
guess at the dinner table.
A knowledge Of Mr.. Nixon's rec
ord is more complete in European
government circles. Of course. but
II is still not exactly thorough.
When one asks officials what they
think Of Mr.. Nixon they tend to
reflect the view widely expressed
in the American press--that he
has had his troubles but In recent
years has shown a significant in
crease in stature.
They are eager to have him
visit Europe.
increased Powers Seen
In Government circles it was
understood that Mr.. Eisenhower
would keep the presidency in all
likelihood, but it was assumed
that Mr.. Nixon would be given in
creased powers. The average
person. with only the hazieSt
notion Of American constitutional
procedures, tends to believe Presi-
dents can be switched as easily
as French Premiers. One London
cabbie even asked II the OPPOSE
ton party" would take over the
United States and il Adlai
Stevenson would now be Presi-
dent.
There has been much talk in
European capitals. of course,
about a summit meeting in Paris.
One foreign Office ofiicial here ex-
pressed these views:
"A summit meeting is in many
ways a geSture-a public relations
move to wake up people and gov
ernments to new sacrifices and
efforts they must make. Mr..
Eisenhower cleaFE has the
prestige to do this at Paris and to
follow up on 1t In the months
ahead. But II Mr.. Eisenhower is
physically unable to do the job.
then We must depend on Mr..
Nixon.
II personally am not dis
couraged. Mr.. Nixon has the repu-
tation Of q good public relations
man. He has done good work in
his Far East and African trips. !
would expect him to be effective
in alerting people to this crisis"
The ofhcial then asked: "Can
Mr.. Nixon also do q good job Of
alerting Americans? Your leader
ship won't be effective unless the
American people back it. Can Mr..
Nixon's voice carry the same au-
thority as Mr.. Eisenhower or
will he be viewed-even II he as
sumes the presidency-merely as
a shadow Of Mr.. Eisenhower"
Like His FIexibility
Government officials are quite
respectful in their comments on
American leaders. but one does
get the feeling that they are
encouraged by Mr. Nixon's reputa-
ton for fiexibility. They seem to
hope he hasn't too many precon-
ceptions about European affairs.
II Mr.. Nixon comes here with an
open mind, they believe. they can
do a good job Of presenting their
points Of view. Or. as one Ameri-
can here put 1t. Mr.. Nixon looks
like good material for moulding"
But whoever holds the reins.
Europeans hope America will have
some kind Of strong leadership.
One Paris paper compared the
present American problem with
the recurring French political
crises. France just went SO days
without fully effective Premier.
but not much harm was done. the
paper said. But America cannot
afford three-year political crisis.
The paper said crises in both
places have common cause: The
parties put their own interests
above those of the Nation. The
editorial suggests that Republic
cans give up Mr.. Eisenhower
before the whole West suffers.
And that seems to express
Europe's feeling in the first week
Of Mr. Eisenhower's new illness.