YUGOSLAVIA: Optimist No. 1

A ruthless royal dictator of great charm, who knew how to keep democratic Frenchmen and Britons cheering for him, was King Alexander of Yugoslavia, assassinated at Marseille (TIME, Oct. 22, 1934). Since his death, Yugoslavia has followed an exactly opposite foreign policy of courting the favor of authoritarian states —while not actually flouting France or Britain. Last week Premier Milan Stoyadinovich was so pleased with the way his country’s foreign policy was shaping that he crowed in Parliament:

“Our treaty with Italy is working to the satisfaction of both countries. Our relations with Germany developed during the past year in a spirit of understanding and mutual respect. We reaffirm our friendship with France and have good relations with our partners in the Little Entente [Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia & Rumania]. We have assumed no new obligations that would conflict with old ones. We have maintained all our alliances and gained new friends. We are surrounded now by friends!”

Yugoslavia is one of the few European states which does not recognize the Soviet Union and encourages militant White Russians to colonize in Yugoslavia. “Yugoslavia does not adhere to any ideological bloc,” concluded Europe’s No. 1 Optimist last week, “but will continue to support the League of Nations.”