Summer of Content
The summer of 1954 proved to be a great time for Macmillan. As Gaitskell bitterly fought Bevan for control of Labour, the Prime Minister was allowed a relatively free hand, but one that, as ever, he used with calculated restraint. He and MacLeod continued to arrange for the early independence of more colonies, including Ghana, which would go its own way in 1955. Kenya was proving to be a headache, and a conference was called for later in the year to thrash out an agreement between the Europeans and Africans. In the meantime, Europeans started to leave Kenya, convinced that independence was on its way soon. 10,000 had left by the end of the year, mostly urbanites with no land- most went to South Africa or to the UK. Malaya was also proving to be a problem, and Macmillan was struggling to find a way to resolve the issue.
The real news of the summer came from firstly from Brazil, where a plot was uncovered to kill the opposition figure Carlos Lacerda. The plot was swiftly traced back to the president, Getulio Vargas, who was arrested by the military and imprisoned on the island of Fernando de Noranha temporarily. [1] Martial law was declared and a reluctant General Joao Baptista de Morais was installed as interim president.
The second, and most disturbing news, a young soldier named Robert Denard assassinated the French Prime Minister, Pierre Mendes-France. Amidst a great deal of anger, he was replaced by Edgar Faure. This led to significant embarassment, and the Defence Minister (and Gaullist hero) Marie-Pierre Koenig was forced to indulge in a purge.
Elsewhere, Hungary defeated West Germany 2-1 in Berne to win the 1954 World Cup for the first and only time.
[1] IOTL, he committed suicide to avoid this. This damaged his opponents for years later.