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any Italia n government that in–
cluded Communists in the cabinel.
The Italians were enraged first at
findin g out that such a decision had
been reached, se condarily at
Schmidt 's "arrogance. ' French,
British. and American spokesmen
were embarrassed and claimed " dis–
approval" of Schmi.dt's remarks , but
they couldn' t deny the existence of
such a secret deal.
Chancellor Schmidt's indiscretion
on ly polnts up that G ermany 's
growing power position is ca using
no small concern among her Euro–
pean neighbors. According to a re–
cent Associated Press report. "U.S.
officials say the Ford Administra–
tion has been informally advised of
these new fears of resurgen! Ger–
man influence . Among countries
which have done so, informants
said, are France, Britain, Holland,
Norway, Belgium, and Luxem–
bourg."
European authorities still ac–
knowledge that the Germans are
acting like good all ies. But sorne
countries are already quietly mak–
ing counterbalancing moves, in the
fines t of European poli.tical tradi–
tion. President Giscard d'Estaing of
France, for example , is edging
closer to Britain. He has arranged to
consult with British Prime Minister
Callaghan as r egularly as he does
with Schmidt. French mili ta ry
forces are also being beefed up. os–
tensibly to counter Soviet strength,
but also to prevent an over-reliance
on German strength in Western Eu–
rope. The French mil itary is cooper–
ating more dosely with NATO now
than ever since De Gaulle pulled
France out of the alliance command
structure.
The British, too, are expressing
guarded concern over Bonn's en–
viable position, especially its "open
door" to Washington. Britain's lead-
ing news weekly,
The Economisr,
cautions that " it would be a mis take
if America were to try to give Ger–
many respons ibili ties and a role for
which history and circumstance
have sti ll not fully prepared it. "
Both for Europe
As fa r as the "Europea n issue" is
concerned in the October 3 national
election, there is virtually no differ–
ence between Social D emocra t
Schmid t and chall enger Helmu t
Kohl wbo represents the Christian
D em ocr a tic /C hr is t ia n Soci a list
forces. Both are ardent supporters of
a united Europe.
At a recent conference in Brussels
of the European Movement- a prí–
vate, nonpolitical "action" group
advocating a united Europe- Kohl
stres s ed that what is n e e d e d
throughout Western Europe is a
new era of unity fe rvo r such as that
which brought abou t p rofound
Vying for the Helm inWest Germany
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Polis lndlcate a close race In West Germany's October 3 natlonal electlon. Here are the contenders for Chancellor:
CHANCELLOR HELMUT SCHMIDT
The incumbent West German chancellor is Helmut Schmidt, 57, who
succeeded to the office in May 1974, after the reslgnatlon of Willy Brandt
in the wake of a spy scandal. Brandt, though resignlng the office of chan–
cellor, retalned the chairmanshlp of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Schmidt is natlonal vice chairman of the SPD, which has governed
West Germany since 1969 in coalition with the liberal Free Democratlc
Party (FDP). There has been talk of late, however, that the small FDP,
headed by West German Foreign Minister Hans Dietrlch Genscher, mlght
pul! out of the coalition and ally itself with the SPD's rival , the conserva–
tive Christian Democratic Union. lf that were to occur, the SPD would
probably have no chance of returning to power this autumn .
CHALLENGER HELMUT KOHL
Helmut Kohl, 46, is national chairman of the oppositlon Cnristian Demo–
cratic Union (CDU), as well as governor of the Rhineland-Palat inate
state. Kohl 's CDU is allied with the Bavarian Christian Social Union
(CSU), headed by fiery ultraconservative Franz Josef Strauss .
The CDU governed West Germany during the 20 years following
the nation's creation in 1949. In 1969, Willy Brandt's SPD / FDP coali–
tion swept the CDU out of power and into opposition. In the premature
national election of 1972, the CDU - led by Rainer Barzel - was nar–
rowly defeated by Brandt. This year, the CDU feels it will do much better
in the national balloting. But the key factor in who wi ll head the next
government may still be the small "kingmaking " party, the FDP.
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The
PLAIN TRUTH October 1976
13