Peace in Our Time! - A TRO Inspired Franco-British Union Quest

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1965 - Grimond Foreign Policy Stays the Course!
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"We can not allow ourselves to be henpecked by the misses, lest we come to loathe our current living arrangements."
- Prime Minister Grimond, on Franco-British-American Special Relationship

It was perhaps not a surprise to anyone that Grimond's coalition would stay the course. There were few in government or the party that wanted to reverse the major gains made by them, lest they weaken themselves for little gain. The Franco-British Union reaffirmed its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and hoped its fellow Commonwealth members would follow suit. Canada, Ireland, and Australia all remained committed to the current treaties, India less so, but that remained under the table thanks to America's help.

President Nixon's offer of stationing nuclear weapons in the British Isles and North Africa was politely refused. America negotiating basing rights for missiles in Iran and Spain already put continental Europe and Western Russia in range of CAN weaponry. Anything more than that was unnecessary overkill that sent the wrong message. Nixon took the rejection well, publicly at least, in private though he ranted about Britain returning to its bullshit period of 'splendid' isolation and that London had become a cesspool where Albion perfidiousness and French arrogance had somehow blended together to produce the worst type of deranged idealistic, naïve, self-important, moralistic asshole imaginable.

It was no small irony then that Grimond's FBU continued to support its allies overseas. Nixon's White House did not appreciate the doubletalk coming out of London, but it did appreciate the unified front CAN presented outwards.

The decision to remain a denuclearized country did not go unnoticed by other powers. Mitterrand spoke publicly about the moral courage of the British government to remain opposed to weapons of mass destruction ahead of trade talks. Grimond became the second British prime minister to visit Paris, only a few years after Bevan's groundbreaking trip. The diplomatic delegation was treated to a tour of the city, meeting public figures, union representatives, and common folk of the city. It was there that Grimond saw the French Model of Socialism first hand.

In an effort to devolve power to the workers directly the government had begun transferring control over state companies directly to worker cooperatives. The tight economic control maintained by the central government had been loosened, encouraging workers to start their own firms to service the needs of their community and economy. Many of these worker cooperatives were members of the major union, but it itself was not run by the union. This was not a planned economy with worker's self management, but in Mitterrand's own words "the beginning of a worker driven economy built off parallel relationships between cooperatives."

To the surprise of many, Grimond himself took a liking to it. The fairly pro-market capitalist liberal at the head of the party became utterly enthralled by an economy run by worker cooperatives. He saw it as a way to empower the average person without giving control over the economy to big unions or the government. If workers could directly profit off their labour it'd raise the standard of living of everyone at a firm. That meant more money flowing into the economy, more money in the average household, and more wealth for everyone. Such flights of fancy whirled in the back of the prime minister's mind as he signed the historic agreement between London and Paris.

It was seen as a stepping stone to closer relations, perhaps even tourist visas in the near future. Britons had been yearning for a holiday on the continental for quite some time. The decision had cost the RLD a bit of support from its French right wings. The radicals and liberals that opposed closer relations on principle left the party to join the Democratic Centre. The party remained modestly sized compared to the titans of Algerian politics, but with a growing dedicated base of pro-business conservatives, liberals, and farmers.

Grimond's coalition and party remained strong as ever however. The various factions that made it up were all united behind the current program of liberal internationalism and progressive policies. The only major criticism that he faced during the first half of 1965 was the decision to back Nigeria and Gabon against Socialist Guinea. It did cause the government to bleed a few MPs, but the majority remained on board. The Franco-British Union's commitment to the affair remained minimal, instead focusing on mobilizing CAF assets in the region with the FBU acting as the tip of the spear.

The fleet stationed at St. Helena left shortly, while fighter jets were mobilized across Western and Eastern Africa. In a few short weeks, Socialist Guinea's hopes of holding out had vanished into thin air. The first marines and paratroopers landed on the gulf islands, easily overcoming local resistance. The coast was soon blockaded and more ports seized in the following month. The conventional forces of Socialist Guinea melted away against the air superiority of CAN, breaking the back of the army, and soon the capital fell.

The government would go underground to flee to the DRC, which readily accepted them as a government in exile. Socialist Guinea had spent its existence building up ties in Congo and Angola in preparation of its defeat, so many of its leaders re-emerged months later. They were scarred and embittered, but more determined than ever to continue their fight to overthrow the colonial regime in Angola and Mozambique. That however was an issue for Portugal to deal with.

The Commonwealth established a new liberal democracy in charge of Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Its provisional government headed by Bonifacio Ondo Edu pledged to build close ties with the FBU by joining the Commonwealth and African International Congress. Gabon sponsored its membership in both organizations and hoped it could soon join within a year or two once the country had been "stabilized." There was a minor ongoing insurgency in the countryside, but the cities, ports, and major railway hubs were all firmly under Commonwealth control. It was believed that the insurgency would be choked out by lack of support shortly, since Equatorial Guinea was surrounded on all sides by Commonwealth nations.

Spain demanded that Guinea be returned to it, which London categorically rejected. The people of Guinea were in control of their own destiny now and free to build a democratic society free of foreign influence… so long as said society wasn't socialist and was influenced by London. That little invasion didn't count. Madrid expected that response, so it decided to request property seized by the rebels be returned to Spanish companies and people.

That happened to cover all natural resources, public utilities, mines, and major farmland. Equatorial Guinea's major oil and natural gas resources were also technically owned by Madrid before the revolution. The Commonwealth was faced with a decision, if it did return control over private property to Spain the new Guinean economy would be completely dominated by Spanish interests. While a more conservative government may have been fine with that, the RLD and Labour both had spent plenty of time pissing in Spain's cereal as a matter of principle.

So, London refused, instead offering to cut a cheque as compensation to Spain. The offered amount was far below the estimated value of the oil and natural gas fields. In tense negotiations, Spain rejected the check as a symbolic gesture to refuse to relinquish 'legal' control over Equatorial Guinea's resources. That worked out great for London because it meant Grimond finally got what he was seemingly always craving: control another country's oil.

The majority of West Africa's black gold was controlled by Shell, British Petroleum, and Franco-British Gas Corporation. The latter of which was owned by the state. The new Equatorial Guinean government was assured it'd get its share of the profits too in an arrangement similar to the renegotiated Anglo-Iranian agreement. Things were looking great for Grimond's government. It remained strong on foreign policy, the domestic situation was great, money was rolling on from trade, and it would soon start raking in millions on oil and natural gas. Yes, by all rights everything was excellent.

It was well poised to sit out the rapid fire series of crises about to sucker punch Spain, Portugal, and the United Arab Emirates.