126 THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE PEACE ch.

on the emotions of the moment a new basis ofpower which might outlast the inevitable reactionsof the near future. Within a brief period, there-fore, after the Armistice, the popular victor, at theheight of his influence and his authority, decreeda General Election. It was widely recognised atthe time as an act of political immorality. Therewere no grounds of public interest which did notcall for a short delay until the issues of the newage had a little defined themselves, and until thecountry had something more specific before it onwhich to declare its mind and to instruct its newrepresentatives. But the claims of private ambitiondetermined otherwise.

For a time all went well. But before the cam-paign was far advanced Government candidateswere finding themselves handicapped by the lack ofan effective cry. The War Cabinet was demandinga further lease of authority on the ground of havingwon the war. But partly because the new issueshad not yet defined themselves, partly out of regardfor the delicate balance of a Coalition Party, thePrime Minister's future policy was the subject ofsilence or generalities. The campaign seemed, there-fore, to fall a little flat. In the light of subsequentevents it seems improbable that the Coalition Partywas ever in real danger. But party managersare easily " rattled." The Prime Ministers moreneurotic advisers told him that he was not safe from