BELGIUM: Century’s Bargain

Active, intelligent Paul Henri Spaak Belgium’s Foreign Minister, concluded last week what has already been called “the political bargain of the century” After the Treaty of Versailles, Belgium, which for centuries had been ravaged by the wars of others, pinned her faith in collective security. Since then Belgians have seen the League fumble and haggle while Dictator Mussolini walked into Ethiopia; they have watched Dictator Hitler’s Storm Troops calmly goosestep into the demilitarized Rhineland zone (TIME, March 16, 1936), and France form a pact with godless Stalin (TIME, May 13, 1935) whom Belgians, most of them devout Roman Catholics, hate. More recently they have watched 27 neutral nations ignominiously fail to let Spain destroy itself unassisted.

Belgium, though still technically committed by the Locarno Treaties to defend Britain or France if either should be attacked, has long been ready to let the rest of Europe go hang. Handsome young King Leopold III seven months ago gave out that his country intended to “follow a policy exclusively and entirely Belgian” (TIME, Oct. 26), and last week that policy was fulfilled. The French and British Governments, making a virtue of necessity both agreed to release Belgium from he promise to defend Britain and France from attack, but maintained their pledge, from motives of self-interest, to fight if Belgim is invaded. Apart from being bound by the Covenant of the League of Nations, Belgium is thus virtually as “neutral” as in 1914.