At the same time the London papers again report to-day, notwithstanding the frequent denials, that there is still a possibility of a Hitlerist-Bruening Government in Germany.
The Socialist leaders, the “Daily Telegraph” writes, have most urgently warned Dr. Bruening that they cannot agree to fresh cuts in wages unless effective measures are taken to bring about a simultaneous and corresponding reduction in the cost of living. Nevertheless, it is believed that the Chancellor intends to enforce immediately substantial wage-cuts.
Should this belief prove well founded, it continues, the Socialists would, it is said, bring about the convoking of the Reichstag, join the active opposition in that body, and thus overthrow the Cabinet. Such a situation would be in the highest degree perilous.
The least mischievous issue from it, it says, would be a Cabinet of Centrists and Hitlerites. Unfortunately, though many feelers have been put out, there is at the moment little inclination by the other side to do business on unfavourable terms. The Hitlerites still demand not only the Chancellorship but also the key Ministries of War and the Interior, which would put all the armed forces of the country into their hands.
It is rumoured that the attitude of the Centre towards these political parvenus is mainly the result of hints from the Vatican, where the Hitlerite movement is looked upon as an anti-Catholic force. It is said that the recent frequent visits of prominent Hitlerites to Rome have had as their object the withdrawal of the Vatican ban.
If the Centre and the Hitlerites cannot be brought together, the “Telegraph” concludes, it is the opinion of some high-placed inside observers that civil strife is the most probable alternative. Indeed, one prominent party leader justifies his advocacy of Hitlerite participation in the Government by his anxiety to prevent a conflict of this nature.
Will Dr. Bruening heed the new appeal made by the Nazis to be given a share in the task of governing Germany? the “Daily Mail” asks.
That, it says, is the question which people from one end of Germany to the other are asking.
The Chancellor, whose Government has been kept in power by the benevolent neutrality of the genuine Socialists, is in a tight corner, it explains. The Socialists are wavering. And now comes an offer from the enemies of the Socialists, made by Dr. Frick, one of the chief henchmen of Herr Hitler, the Nazis’ leader. It is now 5 minutes to 12, Herr Frick writes in the official Hitlerist organ. There is still time for the Centre to come to its senses. In a few weeks or months it may be too late. The National Socialists have already 37 per cent. of the votes of the country, and will get the extra 14 per cent., which will give them an absolute majority. The final decision will come with the presidential election in May.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
