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Who's an Enemy? When Khrushchev finally subsided, Labor Leader Hugh Gaitskell rose to reply. He was pale and his voice trembled with indignation. Nobody expected such a mendacious and false account of history to be given on such an occasion as this, he said, but added bitingly that he saw no need to start a controversy, since all authoritative historians on earth, "with the exception of Mr. Khrushchev and his colleagues," were of a different opinion.
Then, though the atmosphere was tense, Gaitskell plunged ahead. He raised the question of anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union. He asked Khrushchev to consider the release of Social Democrats imprisoned in Eastern Europe, and proffered a list of 150 names furnished by U.S. union leaders.
Brusquely, Khrushchev refused even to lay his hand on the document. Furthermore, he snapped, it was "nonsense" to talk of anti-Semitism in Russia, and there were no Social Democrats in Russia. How the Eastern European countries handled Social Democrats was none of his business. "Why should we care what happens to enemies of the working class?" he demanded truculently.
Up jumped Aneurin Bevan—Nye, the fiery Welsh rebel whose basic anti-Communism is too often obscured by his demagogic anti-Americanism. Shaking a finger at Khrushchev, ruddy-faced Nye answered: "Your view of who is an enemy of the working classes is not our view. Conduct an inquiry into this matter, or, better still, let them all come to England, where we are quite willing to receive them."
Said Khrushchev: "We are Communists. Don't ask us to give up our principles." Said Nye: "Don't try to bully me!"
Throughout, Bulganin sat silent. At midnight the dinner broke up, in an atmosphere of sullen ill-feeling. When someone proposed a toast to "our next meeting," Khrushchev gave him a cold stare. Later, he growled: "It is far more difficult to discuss things with you Labor leaders than with the Conservative government of this country."
Second Thoughts. Next day, Khrushchev was still as surly as a Siberian bear. He muttered that if this was British Socialism, he preferred to be a Tory. At a lunch given by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Khrushchev interrupted another of Bulganin's speeches to grunt: "And I hope next time we come, the Labor Party will be more friendly." When Brown came up to offer his hand, Khrushchev curtly said "Nyet," and turned away.
At a stormy Labor Party meeting next day, Emanuel Shinwell, Defense Minister in the last Labor Cabinet, proposed that the Labor Party send an apology to B. & K. for Brown's behavior. The party indignantly refused. "It would be like apologizing for criticizing someone for knifing your brother," said one M.P. But next day Gaitskell called on the Russians at Claridge's, brought Brown's personal regrets, and expressed his own regret that the dinner had turned out badly. Khrushchev was unappeased.