European Diary, 1977-1981 Part 30

We parted very friendlily, I presenting all my party to him and he asking me to propose myself for lunch or dinner with him whenever I was in Spain in the future. I thanked him warmly and also for the Grand Cross of Charles III, which is visually a splendid decoration with an enormous blue and white sash (much worn by those in Velazquez and Goya portraits in the Prado). It is, alas, difficult to think of many occasions when I might wear it.

Then back to Madrid for a glimpse of the Plaza Major, which is always worth revisiting, and a fairly grand Ministry of Foreign Affairs lunch given by Perez-Llorca (who is thirty-nine but looks fifty-five, like my last Home Office Minister of State, Brynmor John) but without significant speechesthe significant speech had been at dinner the night before, which had been very well received by the SpaniardsBa.s.sols (their Amba.s.sador in Brussels) was said to have tears in his eyes. From there direct to the press conference at 4.30, which was perfectly easy, mainly on the timetable for Spanish entry, but I had worked out quite carefully what I could say on this. Also one or two routine questions about my position in British politics and some other matters about the Community. 6.15 plane to London. East Hendred at 9.30.

SUNDAY, 5 OCTOBER. East Hendred.

I spent almost the whole morning on the telephone, picking up impressions of the Labour Party Conference. I had spoken to Shirley the previous day, but I then spoke to Tom Bradley, to Clive Lindley, to Bill Rodgers, who said he was coming to lunch, to David Marquand for a long time, and to various other people. The Rodgers' arrived at 1.20, which was relatively punctual for them, and stayed till 4.30 with a good political talk. It was a much better meeting with them than the August one, which somehow had not gone right. Bill's broad view was that while they (the Gang of Three, etc.) were going to see what happened over the leadership, they were very dissatisfied with Healey.

I just cannot decide whether or not Bill is willing to break with the Labour Party. I suppose the odds probably remain that he is not. But he is certainly much nearer to it than nine months ago, and I think opening up the issue of a split, as I did in Dimbleby and subsequently in June, has been right. Certainly my a.n.a.lysis of the state of the Labour Party has been right. So I think have been my tactics of waiting for the autumn rather than rushing in further in the summer. I now feel much easier about the political situation and whatever it may hold. I do not feel myself boxed in, in the way that I did in June, July and August.

MONDAY, 6 OCTOBER. East Hendred, Brussels and Luxembourg.

To Brussels and saw Heseltine,64 the Queen's deputy Private Secretary, for half an hour to tie up the plans for the Queen's visit in November. He was rather hesitant about the idea of the Queen partic.i.p.ating in a Commission meeting, obviously being rather doubtful whether the Queen would like it, or would want to ask questions, and was distinctly unrea.s.sured when I said that in the case of the Dutch visit Prince Bernhard had in fact asked quite a lot of questions and no doubt Prince Philip could do the same. Then to Luxembourg by train.

TUESDAY, 7 OCTOBER. Luxembourg and Brussels.

A meeting with Thorn at 9 o'clock, nominally about the agenda for the Council. The main point which emerged was that he had been to see Giscard the day before and had found him 'impitoyable' towards the Commission. Giscard had clearly frightened Thorn out of his life by telling him that the independence which had been shown previously was not acceptable and must stop. The Commission must represent the interests of the member states rather than having an independent role, Giscard apparently said, presumably equating member states with one member state. Thorn was visibly shaken.

Council immediately after that. The early part of the morning was taken up with a foolish argument over the preparation for a Community/Israeli Council. Then came the a.s.sociation Council itself attended by their Foreign Minister (Shamir)65 which went particularly badly, he being ungracious, boorish, hectoring, everything one can think of. As a result, the second leg of the BBQ-the supplementary measures and the timing of payments-did not start until about 12.45 which put Peter Carrington, who had arrived specially for a 10.45 start, in a very bad temper which persisted throughout lunch.

But mysteriously it all came out easily in the wash in the afternoon, the French being much less difficult than had been expected, and the Germans not difficult at all. 7.30 train to Brussels.

MONDAY, 13 OCTOBER. Brussels and Strasbourg.

Lunch in the Berlaymont for a group of British lobby correspondents. Fred Emery was the most notable. I tried to keep them off British politics, but inevitably only half-succeeded. As a result Emery wrote a prominent front-page Times piece developing what Palmer had said previously. Quite satisfactorily put from my point of view.

Avion taxi to Strasbourg. Question time at 6.30. Only one question for me, about bloodstock of all things, which I had to take over from Burke, who, although responsible, runs away from it because the Irish are behaving so badly on the issue. I managed to have mild fun with the supplementaries. Then back to the hotel to finish Mrs Castle's 19746 Diaries. They are too sprawling and self-obsessed, but nonetheless I have found them compulsive reading. She is neither particularly friendly nor particularly disagreeable about me. However, I agree with quite a number of her judgements on others but rarely with her judgements on herself, though occasionally even with those. On Wilson, curiously, I agree with her to a very substantial extent.

TUESDAY, 14 OCTOBER. Strasbourg.

Extremely nice weather. To the Parliament at 10 o'clock, and hung about as is habitual there waiting to deliver a quite important steel statement which eventually came on at about 12 o'clock. It was a rather good, firm statement and Stevy was very pleased with it.

In the evening, rather amazingly, I took Barbara Castle to dinner for three hours. She was very talkative, as self-obsessed as ever, and I think probably rather pleased to have been asked and to gossip about old times. She is half sensible and half incorrigible. I enjoyed the evening.

WEDNESDAY, 15 OCTOBER. Strasbourg.

I decided I could not go to Brussels that afternoon, as I wanted. There was a greve sauvage at Zaventem and in addition it was thought I ought to stay for (and perhaps intervene in) the inst.i.tutional debate which was really the Parliament beagling Thorn for not resigning as Foreign Minister of Luxembourg (and hence President of the Council) in time to prepare for his presidency of the Commission. As it turned out there was no need to intervene in the debate. But it was worth being there. It was quite a full house. And it was interesting to see how Thorn handled it. At one stage he said surely the Parliament did not wish him to add himself to the number of unemployed in Europe, and who was going to pay him if he resigned, which was not the most persuasive way of putting things. I think he will have to go pretty soon, or he will be in quite serious trouble.

FRIDAY, 17 OCTOBER. London and Belfast.

12.30 plane to Belfast. I opened the new Commission office in a semi-skysc.r.a.per, looking down on the splendidly flamboyant City Hall. I then did three television interviews, one for each Northern Ireland channel and one for RTE, the Dublin channel. These fortunately were not as dull as might have been expected, because I had to sort out the question of a possible 100 million Community grant for 'concerted action' in Belfast, about which Burke had gone too far in a speech in Ulster the week before, and which had led to a controversy between him, the City Council and the British Government. However, we had a tenable line on it, and in fact the whole incident, by dominating the press, focused attention on the Community and added considerably to the interest in my visit.

Called on the Lord Mayor, an ex-Unionist member of the Westminster Parliament who has now moved to a fairly centre position. Then out to Hillsborough. I was particularly struck, not so much by the house as by the small town at the gates, which is a beautiful early nineteenth-century ensemble with a town hall and another public building, good shop-fronts and houses, remarkably attractive, all in good stone. Then to Queen's University for a dinner which Geoffrey Martin, our new Commission representative in Belfast, had organized very well indeed. A great representative turn-up with about 120 people, including the Lord Mayor, all the other Ulster mayors, Humphrey Atkins66 (Secretary of State) who spoke, Paisley and Taylor (two of the three MEPs-Hume was ill), the Vice-Chancellor, and various other notabilities.

SAt.u.r.dAY, 18 OCTOBER. Belfast and East Hendred.

Drove through a rather attractive Northern Ireland dawn for the 7.30 plane to London Airport. We had Gordon Richardsons, Harlechs, Ann Fleming and John Harris to lunch. In addition, the Ginsburgs arrived unexpectedly. High confusion between them and Jennifer and me, but eventually we fitted them in. The lunch then went very well. Afterwards I played good croquet with both Richardsons and David Harlech.

SUNDAY, 19 OCTOBER. East Hendred.

Lunch with the Owens at b.u.t.termere, the first time we had been there for four or five years. They were on agreeable form, David tough, and in some ways extreme. He definitely is not very enthusiastic about Healey winning; it would not amaze me if he abstained. He foresees a danger of Healey being in substance if not in manner a rather weak right-wing leader, particularly while he has his eye over his shoulder on the electoral college. Owen would now I think in many ways like a split, though he still firmly wants a Socialist International-affiliated new party. But how much he will do about it-he is certainly inhibited from saying some of these things in public-I do not know. He would also quite like to see a position in which the left brought forward and carried a motion that the leadership election should be postponed until the new electoral mechanism is in place in January, in order to avoid what he regards as a dangerous hiatus of weakness for a new, allegedly right-wing leader. In the course of a half-hour walk after lunch I had some serious talk about what the future policy of a new grouping might be.

MONDAY, 20 OCTOBER. East Hendred and London.

Crispin and I went to visit the National Radiation Protection Board at Harwell, where we were received by the Director and by Sir Fred Dainton,67 the Chairman. Quite an interesting talk with them for about an hour and a half, Fred Dainton on the way out expressing strong and sympathetic political interest. We then had Tom and Joy Bradley to lunch at East Hendred. Tom again very tough and firm, but, perhaps because he likes to be in a fight, slightly more inclined to support Healey than is Owen, but at the same time saying absolutely firmly that what he really wanted to do was to go with me.

At 6.30 I had a meeting with Clive Lindley, d.i.c.k Taverne and David Marquand at Kensington Park Gardens to discuss the setting up, as a sort of half-way house to a new party, of an enlarged Radical Centre Inst.i.tute, possibly under a new name, and with trustees. We thought we would try to get some politicians as well as some academic figures; Bullock,68 Dainton were agreed as obvious names here, Shirley if she would do it, and indeed Bill (Rodgers) or David (Owen), David Marquand himself, d.i.c.k Taverne, with me I suppose as President, funded to the extent of about 50- 100,000 a year, and producing policy statements.

Then to the Jim Cattermole retirement69 dinner at St Ermin's Hotel. Very good attendance of about 130, a lot of MPs, all very friendly.

WEDNESDAY, 22 OCTOBER. Brussels.

Lunch with the Nanteuils for Olivier Wormser, Directeur Economique at the Quai d'Orsay when I had first known him in the late fifties, then Amba.s.sador to Moscow, Amba.s.sadorto Bonn, Governor of the Bank of France. I was pleased to see him as always. He is a man of such exquisite refinement, though not at all bogus, that he always makes me feel slightly gross and vulgar. I feel I must not eat or drink much in his presence! However, I had a good talk with him for twenty minutes or so after lunch-he had come to Brussels to find out what was happening to the Common Agricultural Policy, he said, but on whose behalf or for what reason was not clear.

After the Commission meeting I had Enders, the US Amba.s.sador, for forty minutes. He had nominally come to deliver a demarche, which the Americans were also sending to all the Community countries, in effect telling us to keep off the gra.s.s in the Middle East. In fact he did not deliver it, and merely asked what I thought about it, to which I said not much. It would have the effect, undesirable from the American point of view, of pushing the item on to the agenda for next weekend, whereas it had not been intended to discuss it until the Political Cooperation meeting on (American) election day, 4 November, and therefore effectively after the American elections. He then raised the more general issue of how best the US could deal with the strengthening reality of Political Cooperation. It was not easy to tell him exactly what to do. The strengthening is to some considerable extent a reaction to the weakness of American leadership, and is bound to create some additional problems for them.

FRIDAY, 24 OCTOBER. Brussels, Rome and Brussels.

Rome by avion taxi. Twenty-five-minute speech of substance on the present state of the EMS, which was well-reported, to the a.s.sociation of European Journalists at 11.30. After lunch we drove round the Campidoglio, looking at the statue of Marcus Aurelius for the last time, as it is crumbling gravely and is to be put in a museum and replaced by a copy. Back in the Berlaymont by 6.15.

SAt.u.r.dAY, 25 OCTOBER. Brussels and Luxembourg.

Motored with Crispin through pouring rain to Luxembourg from 7.00 to 9.00. Council on steel from 9.30 to 2.15, which cleared a lot of points, but Lambsdorff stuck, after telephone calls to Bonn, on special steels. We did not wish to push him too much into a corner and run the risk of the Germans, for the first time, invoking the Luxembourg Compromise, and we were not sure whether they would or not. I was inclined to the view that they would. We agreed to have another Council next week.

Drove to the Hotel Bel-Air at Echternach for the Foreign Ministers' informal 'Schloss Gymnich' weekend. All the others had nearly finished lunch, but at least I was there before Thorn, who was the host. Lunch from 3.00 to 4.00 and session from 4.00 to 7.15. This was quite good, but not riveting, mainly Political Cooperation, and I did not say much.

At dinner I decided, perhaps because of the afternoon silence, that I would give them all several farewell pieces of my mind, which I did about a variety of issues from the seat of the European Parliament, to general relations with the Parliament, to the fact that the presidents of the European Council (i.e. heads of government and, more relevantly, of state, for it is particularly Giscard who resists going) certainly ought to go and address the Parliament, which Francois-Poncet tried to wriggle around rather ineffectively: altogether a rather enjoyable bashing about for a few hours.

I had half an hour with Peter Carrington afterwards, which was also quite enjoyable. The only thing on which he was disappointing was Crispin's knighthood, which he says the lady is against, as she for some reason or another is not very pro-Crispin.70 TUESDAY, 30 OCTOBER. Brussels and East Hendred.

12.45 plane to London. Motored to East Hendred with Jennifer. An evening of television: first an enjoyable programme by Ludo Kennedy about American transcontinental trains, and then had the pleasure of seeing both Foot and Healey on different channels. Foot in a way not bad on ITN, Denis on a programme on which I cannot help feeling it was a deep mistake for him to appear, which was the Robin Day television version of Any Questions and is certainly not a 'prime ministerial' forum.71 He was good on defence, not very good on anything else.

SAt.u.r.dAY, 1 NOVEMBER. East Hendred.

To Sevenhampton on my own, where Ann had the Levers, and two Marks (Boxer and Amory), Joe Alsop, my old Washington friend, and Aline Berlin without Isaiah. Curious lunch -1 actually enjoyed it very much, though Lever and Alsop do take a long time to tell their stories. However, I found it rather encouraging on the threshold of sixty to seem much faster than some other people!

A little serious talk with Lever after lunch about future political developments, particularly the projected (Radical Centre) Inst.i.tute to which he was favourable. Basically his view is not too unsensible: yes, he would like to have a great political initiative in the direction I want, but he thinks we have not got enough obsessive people. I think what he really means is what Woodrow (Wyatt) and one or two other people have said, that I have not got the obsessive political interest to be able to stump round the country, fight bye-elections, and create something out of nothing. Alas, he may be right.

SUNDAY, 2 NOVEMBER. East Hendred.

Tavernes, who had organized James Meade72 to come over from Cambridge, to lunch. Meade is a slightly other-worldly, very nice, distinguished man, who is extremely anxious to be helpful to some new radical party, particularly in the formation of economic policy. He is also very keen on electoral reform and pretty close to the Liberals, saying that if the new party did not come off he would almost certainly join them.

MONDAY, 3 NOVEMBER. East Hendred and London.

With Crispin to what was, in effect, the first of my farewell visits: to Mrs Thatcher. An hour and a half's conversation-not I think of particular note. She showed little desire to look forward and discuss the European future beyond the end of my term. Justin Cartwright, a television producer who wants to do a dialogue between David Steel and me for Panorama, to see me in the early evening. I am not too keen to commit myself to do this early on my return. David Steel himself to dinner. I found him very good and sound, not unduly discouraged by continuing hesitancy, and understanding of my desire to wait some time, but not indefinitely, for the Gang of Three.

TUESDAY, 4 NOVEMBER. London and Brussels.

Home to rue de Praetere at 7.00 to hear the result of the Labour Party first ballot. A remarkable result: Healey in the lead but not at all strongly so, and a real possibility of his being beaten by Foot on the second ballot. A rather exciting prospect. A bitterly cold day.

WEDNESDAY, 5 NOVEMBER. Brussels.

Listened to the news of Reagan's landslide victory as we drove to the Bois (for my run). No newspapers, however, for some reason or other. Dined with Jennifer with the d.i.c.k Leonards: an agreeable conversation with them, mainly reminiscence about Tony Crosland, on which subject Leonard is easy to talk to, because, although he was so close to Tony, and therefore very well informed, he is also objective without being at all cold either towards Tony, or towards me. He is a very nice man.

FRIDAY, 7 NOVEMBER. Brussels.

Ivor Richard,73 newly appointed to be the next British junior Commissioner, to lunch rue de Praetere. Found him intelligent and agreeable but somehow slightly detached and complacent, and rather misconceiving his job I think, seeing it as far too much a propaganda job to be done in England with the object of reconciling the Labour movement and the trade unions to Europe. This admittedly would be a wonderful objective, but not I think achievable, and certainly not by a Brussels-based Commissioner.

SAt.u.r.dAY, 8 NOVEMBER. Brussels.

Hayden, Laura and John Harris arrived for the weekend about noon. Crispin came in to settle the placement for his great party-or our joint great party-in the evening. We lunched at Ohain, and then walked on a beautifully fine clear cold day in the grounds of the Chateau de la Hulpe on the way back. At just after 8 p.m. we went to Crispin's for his dinner and dance for sixty-four people, which went on until about 3 a.m. I enjoyed it a lot. It was certainly a success, and as good a way as any of celebrating (?) one's sixtieth birthday.

MONDAY, 10 NOVEMBER. Brussels.

An official visit from Nordli, the Prime Minister of Norway, for nearly four hours from 11.45.1 liked him, as I had in Oslo in July. I went home at 6.40, eager to hear the Labour Party election news, which came through at 7.00. Sensational result: Foot elected by ten votes. I cannot pretend that I was other than elated, as it clearly opened up a much greater prospect of political realignment. Dined with Jennifer at home, discussing this urgently and excitedly.

TUESDAY, 11 NOVEMBER. Brussels.

My sixtieth birthday has arrived at last; like so many things discounted in advance it did not therefore seem as bad as it might have done. Went into the office, not intending to do too much work, at 10.30. Saw Roland de Kergorlay (head of our mission in Washington) at 12.00; a brief drink with the immediate staff at 12.45 or so. Then with Jennifer to lunch at the Villa Lorraine. Excellent lunch and enjoyable occasion. Office from 3.30 to 4.45. Tickells and Michael Jenkins' to dinner.

WEDNESDAY, 12 NOVEMBER. Brussels.

At 4 o'clock I addressed a meeting of about 120 senior staff (Als and A2s) on the Spierenburg Report-what he had done, what we intended to do, and what they had to do if they were to improve management, etc. A good speech, written by Nick, which I delivered firmly and forcefully, and they took with a mixture of enthusiasm (fairly limited), resignation, and some complaint; but worth doing, although a lot of them (not all) hate doing anything which in any way shakes them out of their ruts.

FRIDAY, 14 NOVEMBER. Brussels and near Amsterdam.

Bob McNamara to lunch rue de Praetere. Crispin and Caroline were the only others there. Very enjoyable conversation with him; I find him rather a spectacular man, and it was well worth having changed my plans and stayed in Brussels in order to see him. I don't know what we talked about exactly-but all a great pleasure. Drove to Holland in the afternoon for an Amsterdam visit the next morning. Stayed at the Waterland Hotel, which was in fact only about twenty-five kilometres from Amsterdam Airport, but they took us about two hours. We got constantly lost in drenching rain, had a drink at some extremely sunken cafe, which looked as though it was in Tennessee. We were then stopped by the police for going too slowly on to a motorway. They began extremely aggressively very odd for the Dutch police-as though they thought we were smuggling drugs, but then quietened down a good deal. However, eventually we arrived at the hotel, a tiny and extremely elegantly furnished chateau in a little park at Velsen; roaring fires in all the rooms.

SUNDAY, 16 NOVEMBER. Brussels and Stockholm.

Jennifer and I by avion taxi to Stockholm, where we arrived at 7.30. We were met by the Prime Minister, Thorbjorn Falldin, who seemed a nice man, though talking far from perfect English. Being a Conservative Prime Minister (the first for decades) certainly did not mean he was a good linguist. Installed at the royal guest house called Haga Palace, about five miles from the centre of the city.

MONDAY, 17 NOVEMBER. Stockholm.

One of my last days of official visits with a typical programme. At 10 o'clock we had a morning-long meeting of ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. Then a working lunch in the Operakallaren, presided over again by the Prime Minister. Then quite a good meeting with Ullsten, the Foreign Minister. Then Feldt, who is the Social Democratic economic expert, Palme being away in the Middle East. Then Bohman, the Minister of the Economy. Then I briefed the Community amba.s.sadors and then, after an interval, had the Prime Minister's dinner in the Foreign Office. Unfortunately it was unattractive weather in Stockholm. It had been very cold as with us but in the last few days has become mild and wet with a lot of dirty piles of half-melted snow all over the city.

TUESDAY, 18 NOVEMBER. Stockholm and Strasbourg.

The Speaker of the Parliament at 9.00. Then some sight-seeing, first a famous ship which sank in the harbour in about 1600 on its way to Poland, and then the Armoury Museum. At 11.00 I did a press conference and at 12.00 we lunched with the King and Queen in the Royal Palace. He is small and boyish-looking, slightly nervous but very agreeable. The Queen is mainly Brazilian and not at all German as I foolishly thought. I found her slightly difficult at first, but once one got going conversationally easy and interesting. After lunch we talked to them for about half an hour, standing in a group of four, they and Jennifer and me. The Swedish Court is a curious mixture of informality shot through with occasional strands of high formality. Lunch was in the slightly gloomy old castle (well suited to my Ballo in Maschera impression of what the Swedish Court should be like) looking out over the harbour across to the Grand Hotel. The family are about to move out of it very soon, not into a villa, but into another castle, apparently more suitable for children and some way out.

Arrived in Strasbourg for the last time at 4.30. To the Parliament for two hours, then to dinner (everything beginning to be for the last time now) at La Vieille Enseigne.

WEDNESDAY, 19 NOVEMBER. Strasbourg.

Lunch for four of the five pro-Market Labour MEPs at La Want-zenau. From 5.30 to 6.30 I gave a long interview to Tad Szulc for a New Yorker article which he was doing on the work of the European inst.i.tutions. At 6.30 I went to see Mme Veil in order to complain (disinterestedly) about the Commission's Strasbourg accommodation, and got her to come and see my room, which, having moved from the splendour of hers, was a salutary experience, and she was duly shocked by it.

THURSDAY, 20 NOVEMBER. Strasbourg and Luxembourg.

Paid a sort of symbolic farewell visit to the hemicycle of the Palais de l'Europe-and then Jennifer and I motored to Nancy. Walked around the Place Stanislas and down the Allee before lunch. Drove to Luxembourg, where we installed ourselves in the Emba.s.sy. I then paid an hour's farewell visit to Werner, who gave me a nice picture. Then saw Thorn from 5.00 to 6.15 and talked about his future problems. Then back for speech t.i.tillation at the Emba.s.sy, where Crispin had arrived. The Jeremy Thomas's74 have recently replaced the Patrick Wrights. I liked both the Thomas's. Then gave the Churchill Memorial Lecture.

MONDAY, 24 NOVEMBER. Brussels.

Downstairs at 11.30 to receive the Queen and Prince Philip. Took them up to my room, with two or three other people, for twenty minutes. Easy conversation. Then Commission meeting for an hour. Good presentations by Cheysson, Gundelach, Davignon and Tugendhat. I couldn't get the Queen to ask any questions but the Duke of Edinburgh b.u.t.ted in a good deal, and kept the thing going rather well. He started a great argument with Tugendhat about how ridiculous it was to want to spend more money and increase own resources. At that stage I came in and explained firmly to him why this was not extravagant but necessary if the Community was to do much outside agriculture, which was very much in Britain's long-term interest. However, as the Queen was rather silent, although not looking at all bored, he was on balance a help.

Then from 1.00 to 1.30 we had the reception for the Directors-General of all nationalities, and British staff selected by ballot, in the 'cathedral'. Then out in a great hurry to Val d.u.c.h.esse to receive the Queen there at 1.40. Luncheon went on until 3.30, with only a formal toast-no speeches. But the Queen was then definitely on good form, agreeable, and apparently amused by some of the incongruities of Community life. For once Val d.u.c.h.esse produced quite good food. Saw them all off with a certain sense of relief but thinking it had gone well and been worthwhile. It was fairly well covered by British television, and I hope will have some mildly beneficial effect on British public opinion vis-a-vis the Community. It was very good of her to have come.

Council and Political Cooperation from 4.30 until 10.00 TUESDAY, 25 NOVEMBER. Brussels.

Council for nearly four hours from 10.15, at which we mainly discussed, without getting very far, the social aspects of the steel volet. The Germans and the French were both being fairly difficult. Before lunch there was a thoroughly nasty argument on New Zealand b.u.t.ter-getting absolutely nowhere-the French being unpleasantly difficult.

WEDNESDAY, 26 NOVEMBER. Brussels and Paris.

11.43 TEE to Paris after an early Commission meeting. Lunch on the train and arrived in rain at the Ritz at 2.45. Installed not as we had asked in a small suite on the garden side, but in an immense suite rather badly furnished in the style arab overlooking the Place Vendome. Discovered to my horror that it was incredibly expensive-over 4000 francs for the night-and told Crispin that we could not possibly pay this and must either change rooms or move hotels. He went down to negotiate and had a rather good encounter with the management saying, 'Il faut que vous sachiez que Monsieur Jenkins n'est pas un sheik arab ni meme un roi negre.' The net effect of this, though we were not informed of this until afterwards, was that he got them to look up how much I had last paid and discovered that it was about 1500 francs. As a result they offered to reduce the bill to about 1800 francs, which was a considerable triumph.

Then we went to a meeting with Giscard, which lasted exactly an hour, from 4.20 to 5.20. He was alone, though I had Crispin. It was polite and courteous, even had bits of interest, and without being either fascinating or warm was not notably unfriendly either. We parted in good order, with honours tolerably even. Then at 6.00 we went to see Barre in Matignon and had just over an hour with him. The meeting was quite different: he was warm but at his most pedagogic and went on and on, giving me an only mildly interesting lecture on the state of the French economy in which, according to him, everything was about as good as it possibly could be.

THURSDAY, 27 NOVEMBER. Paris and Dublin.

Dublin at 2.30 for a fairly intensive series of Dublin farewell visits, beginning with President Hillery, who would not let me go, partly because he likes talking and partly I think because he wanted to make me late for the Taoiseach. In any case we went on long after the scheduled time, and I got to Haughey half an hour late. I had a reasonably constructive talk with him and more or less cut, at his suggestion, my meeting with Lenihan (the Foreign Minister) who is a very nice man, and when I rushed in to apologize to him, said that he was giving me dinner and it did not in the least matter.

Then to a press conference at the new Commission office, followed by a reception. A very good attendance at the reception-a lot of amba.s.sadors, members of the Government, etc. - and quite a good speech by me. Then to Iveagh House, where I dined with Lenihan and various other ministers. A thoroughly agreeable occasion-I like Lenihan very much indeed-and there was a lot of warmth in his speech and a very good atmosphere. I have attached great importance to my Irish relations-as I should have done as a British President-and I think they have been good. Stayed at the Hibernian Hotel.

SAt.u.r.dAY, 29 NOVEMBER. East Hendred.

David Owens with their children came to a long lunch from 1.20 to 5 o'clock. He told me firmly, for the first time, that he was prepared to join a new party, and that he thought that Shirley would come too, though he was curiously less sure about Bill. He was also, although agreeable in other ways, very firmly geared up to tell me that he thought that Shirley should be leader; they very much wanted me to play a full part in it, but that it was his view that Shirley should be leader because of her great popularity, etc. And it was made clear that it was in his view to be not a centre party but a 'Socialist International' party, and I was joining them rather than vice versa.

We will see how that works out, but at any rate it is a great advance which no one would have thought possible some time ago. There will now be a real break in the parliamentary party, and I may well get, at the end of the day, much more the sort of party I want than the sort of ex-Labour Party that for the moment he wants. But we will see. At 6.30 I had a telephone call with David Steel and informed him I thought things were going well without telling him the full details. To bed early feeling reasonably content with the movement of affairs. It is an incomparably better position than looked likely last July.

MONDAY, 1 DECEMBER. Brussels and Luxembourg.

Motored to Luxembourg for the European Council and arrived at the Holiday Inn, in which non-Ruritanian surroundings we were installed by the Luxembourg Government. Lunch with the Grand Duke in his palace. Sat between Schmidt and Nothomb (the new Belgian Foreign Minister). Schmidt not on very good form -looking tired, seeming tired, saying he was tired (he always does that), but whereas previously he seemed to enjoy being tired and enjoyed complaining that he was tired, he has now got to the state where he gets no enjoyment out of the complaint. There were beautiful views out on to a sunlit Luxembourg through the narrow fortified windows of the palace dining room. The European Council met from 3.20 until just after 7.00: economic and social situation, EMS, industrial innovation (a rather good discussion following a Commission paper). Thorn report on the Middle East. Then dinner for heads of government at the Palais Vauban, where we had been the previous spring, with no riveting conversation.

TUESDAY, 2 DECEMBER. Luxembourg and Brussels.

Final session of the European Council for three hours. I made a wind-up 'report on the four years' speech, thoughts for the future, etc. for twenty minutes, which was surprisingly well received, and started quite a vigorous and sensible discussion. Giscard began the discussion, was very gracious for him, and said the best compliment was to take some of the things I had said seriously and discuss them. It was an agreeable hour and a good wind-up to a series of wearing (and sometimes wearying) European Councils.

WEDNESDAY, 3 DECEMBER. Brussels.

Commission for two hours only as we all had to go and lunch with the King and Queen at Laeken. The great excitement of the morning was before the Commission began. When I walked in Crispin took me over urgently and rather secretly to Christopher Tugendhat. Christopher then told me how he had been shot at by an a.s.sa.s.sin an hour before and narrowly missed. It was all rather dramatic. At that stage he did not seem unduly upset but became manifestly more shaken as the morning went on; this was particularly noticeable at lunch.

Lunch at Laeken was very agreeably done by the King and Queen, who do seem to have a genuine friendship for us and spoke very warmly, so that the whole occasion was enjoyable, except for poor Christopher. For almost the first time I felt guilty for the benefits of 'protection'. There was absolutely no reason why terrorists (presumably Irish) should have a.s.saulted him rather than me, and plenty of reasons for the reverse. But I am protected and he is not. Back for a resumed and I hope the last long meeting of the Commission from 3.40 to 7.15.

THURSDAY, 4 DECEMBER. Brussels and Nuremberg.

Avion taxi to Nuremberg, where we arrived just after 5.00. It was enveloped in snow. I felt we had moved not merely into Central Europe, but almost into Russian steppe land. Driving was quite difficult. We edged along to Nuremberg's twin ciy of Furth, where we stayed in a new, rather overelaborate hotel called the Forst Haus. Much too early dinner there with the Chamber of Commerce at 6.30, and then motored with some difficulty into Nuremberg, the centre of which was m.u.f.fled and silent but looking rather dramatic, for a two-hour meeting in the Rathaus. I made a moderately interesting speech on the budget, and there was a surprisingly good question and answer period afterwards, mainly about the adaptability or otherwise of European society to modern technology.

SAt.u.r.dAY, 6 DECEMBER. Brussels.

Marie-Alice de Beaumarchais from Paris and Bonham Carters from London for almost our final Brussels weekend. Malines in the afternoon, the weather having become cold and clear again. Dined at the Enders'.