The catastrophe was brought on by this development of affairs, because, at so critical a period, the control of affairs lay in the hands of a minority Government. This Government did not enjoy any respect because it was unable to carry out its programme, and because it did not light as tenaciously for its programme as had been expected of it. In fact, this Government owed the continuation of its existence only to the mercy of the majority, which was antagonistic to it.
When the Opposition took over the Government, I thought one might expect the advantage that the old hatred would not weaken the capacity for action of the Government, and that the burden of responsibility for the fateful future could be borne more lightly by the new elements than by the old ones. The responsibility for the war did not attach to these new forces, and I counted upon the fact that those new elements which had suffered most from the war and had least to lose by it, and could therefore threaten the existing order most easily, would approach the Government and would consequently be more easy to satisfy. I knew, however, that in the beginning it would be a weak spot in the new regime that it did not enjoy a Parliamentary majority and that it lacked experience of Government. The unfortunate development of affairs resulted in adding the unpopularity of the old régime to the inexperience and lack of discipline of the Opposition, which, moreover, suffered from the weakness which is always associated with a Minority Government and which renders it incapable of action in the long run.
