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It was De Gaulle who gave Mendes his first Cabinet appointment (as Minister of National Economy in the first De Gaulle government) and, despite their quarrels since, their go-minute conversation was friendly and productive. The general, who did most of the talking, confessed himself surprised at Mendes' accomplishments. "More than could have been expected," he allowed grudgingly. De Gaulle harked back to his favorite (and justified) theory that the constitution of the Fourth Republic makes the Premier a prisoner of the National Assembly. Until this "framework" is broken, the general saw no hope for truly stable government. But before the meeting was over, De Gaulle, the warring hero, gave Mendes, the new man of hope, a hint of even more support. Around the end of November, the general confided, he will publicly proclaim his full retirement from French political life. De Gaulle has retired before, but this time he promised Mendes that he will free the 70-odd Deputies who still remain loyal to him to vote for whom they please. By choosing to do this after showing his "loyalty" to Mendes, De Gaulle in effect would be urging their support of Mendes.
Radishes with Butter. Mendes was overjoyed. Before him lay the prospect that soon he might head the strongest and most effective coalition in the history of the Fourth Republic. His strongest single asset was his growing popularity among the most forgotten people in French politics: ordinary citizens. Opening a school here, laying a cornerstone there, Mendes was dramatizing his "New Deal" in glowing phrases. A sample: "The wind is rising, morning is here, we are at the dawn of a new France." With the French people aroused and behind him, he hopes to bend the quarreling politicians to his will.
That the politicians were already bending was demonstrated at week's end when Mendes, in his special train, barreled down to Marseilles to attend the 41st annual convention of his Radical Socialist Party. A party of seasoned individualists whose mixed-up politics have been likened to radishes ("Red on the outside, white inside, and surrounded with plenty of butter"), the Radicals were, as usual, quarreling. When Mendes appeared on the tribune, the tumultuous crowd of businessmen, lawyers and well-to-do farmers fell silent without a word of command.
Mendes' chief theme was hope. "Only four months ago," he said, "people spoke of France as the sick man of Europe. But . . . now we have the certainty of a great future for the Republic."