ABSTRACT
The Fifth Republic has witnessed the decline and fall of MRP and the emasculation of the Centre parties which had played such an important role in the Fourth Republic. MRP soon found itself on the horns of a dilemma. On the one hand the Christian Democratic leaders and militants were totally opposed to Gaullist foreign policy, both in its anti-‘European’ and anti-American manifestations; and they were equally critical of the whole style of government, epitomized by the phrase pouvoir personnel, i.e. de Gaulle’s habit of governing ‘autocratically’ and ‘technocratically’ without paying due attention to the views of the National Assembly and the interest groups. On the other hand the Christian Democratic electorate preferred Gaullism to any alternative whenever a clearcut choice had to be made. But if the MRP leaders had accepted Gaullism in deference to their electorate’s views, they would have had to abandon quite genuine principles on which they differed from the Gaullists.
