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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, APRIL 8, 1983
PAGE 6
all in print. Mr. Armstrong has a tremendous knowledge of the
Bible, and of the meaning of words. It seems that other Chris
tian religions combine pagan ideas with Christianity!
ON THE WORLD SCENE
F.D. (New Jersey)
--Richard Rice, Mail Processing Center
THE GREENING OF THE BUNDESTAG; STRAUSS MAKES
HIS MARK; THE KREMLIN AND THE POPE
Petra Kelly, West Germany's most visible "Green," walked to the first
session of the new Bundestag carrying a bouquet. Another Green Party rep
resentative wore green-and-black striped pants.
Shunning the Mercedes
limousines or luxury buses that transported CDU/CSU, FSP and SPD delegates
to the parliament building, the 17 Green deputies marched from downtown
Bonn rolling a huge globe representing "Mother Earth" and carrying dead
fir-tree branches labelled "victims of acid rain."
However impressive the splash they think they made, the blue-jeaned Greens
quickly found out how important they were in the parliamentary scheme of
things. The April 11 NEWSWEEK put it this way:
The newcomers.••soon discovered the 1imits of flower power•...
Bundestag conservatives saw to it that the vehemently antinuclear
Greens were barred from parliamentary committees dealing with
national security. Bundestag leaders also maneuvered the Greens
out of any of the chamber's four vice speaker positions, thus
preventing a Green from ever wielding the gavel during Bundestag
debates.
They savored at least one victory. Learning that they were to be
seated on the extreme left of the Bundestag, the Greens insisted
that they be placed [ near the center] between the Social Demo
crats (SPD) and the CDU. That way, the Greens knew, they would be
in full view of television cameras--and within better heckling
range of the podium••••
The Greens also vowed that they would continue their all-out
opposition to any further "nuclearization" of West Germany-
either in arms or in energy. That pledge is� to plunge the
Bundestag into sharp conflict before long.
Strauss Forces Policy Changes
Perhaps of far more significance than the parliamentary debut of the Greens
is the growing political leverage exerted--behind the scenes--by Franz
Josef Strauss.
The Bavarian strong man is pulling the ruling coalition
further to the right and into a more realistic posture with regards to the
Soviet Union and toward communist inroads in areas around the world vital
to Western interests. The same issue (April 11) of NEWSWEEK ran an article
entitled, "Does Strauss Have Veto Power?" which said, in part:
Chancellor Helmut Kohl announced his cabinet lineup last week,
and, as expected, Franz Josef Strauss didn't make the team. But