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Line Demolished. By losing his temper and his good sense, Khrushchev had demolished one of the Kremlin's best current lines—that Socialists and Communists are really brothers at heart, both working for the same objectives. In their candid moments, Communists have always considered democratic socialists and trade unionists dangerous antagonists, for they are living proof that societies can reform themselves without revolution and terror. Said Gaitskell with satisfaction: "Even left-wing members cannot have had any but the most ghastly experience."
Khrushchev had also destroyed the personal image of himself as the jovial, rough, goodhearted peasant. "The man's impossible," snapped Nye Bevan. "A fanatical Communist— very different from Malenkov," said Gaitskell.
Labor's quiet little dinner party may prove the most instructive lesson of the great visit. Before a knowledgeable audience, it was the sharpest glimpse of the reality behind the beaming smiles of the Kremlin's Traveling Illusionists.