(5) Introduction to Anthony Eden

(5) Introduction to Anthony Eden

1. Defining event of Eden’s career

   • The Suez crises

2. Why was it defining moment

   • Big millitary and forign affair blender
     • Surprising as Eden was very knowledgeable on foreign affairs because he was foreign secretary
   • What was at stake: oil, jugular vein of empire

3. assessment of Eden even before Suez

   • He had no intersted outside politcs
   • He had unrivaled knowledge of foreign affairs but limited on domestic issues
     • "Its a pity he knows nothing about economic or social security or finance, but at least we shall be all right with forign affiars... thats was rather ironic." - Lord Boyd-carpender
     • At the opening press conference of the 1955 Election campaign Butler field question which require a detailed knowledge of home affairs, not the PM
   • An operation went wrong on his abdomen causing him to suffer from pain and fever, this mean he did not have long as PM anyway
     • Within the first six months of his premiership he started getting the fevers again - His parliamentany privet secitary Robert Carr
   • Handsome and charming
   • Anthony Eden is the most tragic figure to have occupied 10 Downing street in the post war period - hennessy
   • The party may have had misgiving about him but the public loved him, increasing their majorities from 16 to 58 in may 1955 GE
   • The property owning democray was at the core of eden demestic policy
   • He was aware pre-Suez of the increasing difficulty of sustaining a world role based on a less than world-class domestic economy
   • Eden fail to see the potential significance of the Messina talk in 1955 on closer economic integration in Europe which lead to the transformation of the European Steel and Coal Comminute into the "Common Market" of the European Economic Community
   • "The privet secretary’s sometimes refused to take things up with him because they know it would worry him and cause an explosion"
     • "The fear that he would loss his temper and we would be sweared at" - diary entry in 1954 foreign office private security, Evelyn Shuckburgh
   • The telephone calls from the PM was the most dreaded magnification of this position for meddling

4. Assessment of Eden as PM

   • My assessment of Eden is if the Suez crisis did not happen he would have only been in the job for maybe two more years, due to his ill health at the start of his premiership. The Suez crisis accelerated his physical deterioration

5. Assessment of Eden during Suez

   • "During these last five months, since Nasser seized the Canal in July, I have been obliged to increase drugs considerably [to allow his body to function] and also increased the stimulus necessary to counter act the drugs " Eden in january 9th 1957 cabinet meeting