'DUKE OF WELLINGTON, hell of a beating.
How distant seem those good old days, when the Norweigar commentator celebrated his coun2-1 VICLOV over England. The days when England's footballing imperialism knew its place.
But inat was before The War and The Baby — oh yes and before Don Howe arrived to help genial Ron Greenwood the English more backbone' _ le more fouling. God So now the England XI have apparently only appear on the football pitch and victory will be theirs, or at least so the pundits are suggesting. And God help anyone who doubts that, and God help Toreigner, especially any non-white foreigner who dares to stand in the way of an English triumph. Alter all. didn't we teach football to the world, and aren't we doing it again?
Well exactly. England will not win the Lord Nelson, Winston Churchill, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana Spencer ….. Margaret Thatcher, Margaret Thatcher, are you listening? Your boys just took one World Cup. They will be outclassed and outplayed by German he Brazil Soviet Union or someone else We will then be treated to English fans rioting and ine spanish ponce cirec tively dispatching the conga-dancing, anthem. singing, 'We hate Argies' : to the gutter trom where they crawled.
And that will be one of the most pleasing sights of Cup. There have been others: the Hondurans. Cameroor and Algeria striking goals and blows for anti-racism: and the French goal against England which was best of the tournament so far, but because it was against England was not listed in ITVs Goal of the Week' competition.
Women It is the monstrous national egotism of the English fans and studio ex Ders walch has dwarfed all other political angles to the Cup incluaing ine exclusion of women from every aspect of the tournament, and the arranging of results so as to please the public brilliantly exposed by the Kuwaiti Football Presi Sheikh Fahd AlAhmad Al-Sabah, following France-Kuwait walk-off incidents.
Labour Party member Brian Clough has been one of the worst - insisting the start that England would win just as he insisted it that a 'clown of a Polish goalkeeper would ensure English passage 1974 World Cup. Well he was wrong then, and hopefully he will be wrong again We can only hope that Latin America has the chance to the Malvinas by Argentina or Brazil lifting the trophy in defeat of the English infidels.
THE INVASION of the Malvinas by the Argentinian generals was premissed on an attempt to create a national military government recourse to civilian participation in the government. The fiasco of the military's attempts to take the islands has resulted in a tremendous crisis both of immediate governmental power and long-term military rule.
low; the popular movements and in particular the trade union federation, grouping and strengthening.
The government which will emerge trom the present wrangles among the military is certain to be a short-lived affair. The resignation Galtieri army and a new President.
But that 1s not being decided on the basis of different basis of seniority. The new President will be Alfredo St Jean, the brother of the governor of Buenos Aires.
by the standards of the Argentinian military, has a reputation for being 'soft'. He succeeds to the presidency by virtue of being the Interior vinister. une secono Talk in the government. Prisoners During the worst years of the anti-left repression Jean had jurisdiction over political prisoners in the Buenos Aires area. unnke other senor 0Ificers he refused to allow me secrel ponce to culer the prisons and carry out assass rauous anu Lorlule.
He established good relaCatholic bishops on this basis.
in recent weeks ne altended a meeting 'multipartidaria' the broa• roar orve dooostion parties in order to Terrost his liberal consensus around the - without having The prestige of the military is at an all-time the CGT, are reage'. But this by no means amounts to support for a democratisation of the political system as a whole competitors for the post OI interim president are Lami Dozo, commander the airforce. Dozo is enjoying a period of unprecedented popularity, given the performance of the airforce, LIC forces in the war with Briinflicted losses on the enemy.
Power But the airforce is far Too smare welds Tal too little power internally, with the army and navy, to be able to enthe whole of the military.
1he new commander of the armed forces will be Cristino Nicolaides, fanatic right-winger and anti-communist. Nicolaides has a reputation of being one most ferocious of generals who participated bloody which followed the 1976 coup. Nicolaides Illaut d speech several weeks ago which sincerely assured his audience that Communism had been trying to subvert the Peronists demonstrate in Buenos Aires since the year 500 BC!
Even as commander of the armv. colades wi have just a temporary rule.
His views are too bizarre and correspond too little with present day needs to hold even this post for any length of time.
The candidate for President being pushed by the United States Alessandro Orsilla, whose after the deluge middle name, appropriateton enougsi 'WashingOrsilla 1S General Secretary of the Organisation of American states, career diplomat who has than a decade, includingie for more 'the pre-coup era Orsilla for the United States flas important qualifications which could make him the ideal person to begin a period of political transition towards a limited democratic opening in the country.
A big landowner and exporter of wine, he has an among the Latin American diplomatic corps. He has good relatoas the right-wing of the Justicalist (Peronist) party and will tae opposition Radical Party, while maintaining some support in the army.
An operation to put Orsilla in power would ex ploit the crucial contradiction in the multipartidaria coalition - which includes the Peronists, the Radicals and Ine enristian Democracy, The divide between left and right goes down the middle of each party, between the parties. Thus Orsilla could bring into a transitional governmen right-wing representatives ol several parties The final major candidate for President is Italo Luder, former speaker of the Assembly, and a rightNim Prescent would be ther Peronist. most bold of all the possible options implying immediate transition from military rule The precise outcome of the internal struggles of is impossible to predict. But in the intermediate term it is nov impossible to stem the tide reconstruction the political organisations and the trade union federation, the CGT. The prospect opened limited democratisation, with civilian Dal lic ballul in government, if not completel civilian goyernment. This will inevitably up democratic space for resurgence of all the currents in Peronism and the workers movement. It will imply a return of politica. exiles. Stable The model for this partial democratisation under the watchful eye of military is what has hap. pened during the last few years in Brazil.
But the Argentinian finitely less stable than in Brazi. and the economi framework -more arious than that which ex. isted in Brazil at the start of the democratisation process. After generals, it is time for the Argentinian workers have their say.