Crocker Snow Reports From Germany; North Rhile-Westphalia Elections

Greetings from West Germany. This is Crocker snow speaking from the studios of Radio Deutsch of our cologne the city where the world famous Gothic cathedral. West German newspapers made much of the clear victory of the Social Democratic Party in the North Rhine-Westphalia elections July 10th banner front page headlines proclaimed social democrats greatest triumph Chancellor Erhard on the skids. Sensational victory for Billy blunt. Why all of the excitement. Why all the fuss over a regional way of action. What part did Chancellor look big and hot and Westboro when Mayor Billy blunt have to play in it. This is a report on what some observers have called the most important regional You action in post-war German history. To understand the election it is necessary to consider the political situation in Germany today.

There are three political parties of note the Christian Democratic Union the CDU is considered conservative and in part supported by the Catholic Church it strongly supports the country's free enterprise economy and is almost laissez faire. In contrast to its major opponent the Social Democratic Party the SPDC is liberal and progressive. It favors a more controlled and centralized economy than at present in Germany with emphasis on social welfare programs. It favors two new approaches and such stalemated foreign policy problems as the reunification issue. The third major party the Free Democrats has been quite flexible in its attempts to gain more influence. At present the party is generally liberal in foreign policy questions and conservative domestically. The Christian Democratic Union is the party of West Germany's famed economic

miracle in cooperation with its sister Christian Socialist Party of Bavaria the CDU has ruled the federal republic since its foundation in 1949. First under Konrad Adenauer and presently under load big the social democrats led now by West Berlin mayor Billy blunt have traditionally been the loyal opposition having moderated its strict socialist policies of 20 years ago. The party has made steady gains at the polls ever since the free democratic party. The smallest of the three has often been in the fortunate position of holding a balance of power between its two larger competitors. At present for example the FPP forms a ruling coalition with the CDU in the federal government at Bonn. Nationally elections were held last September Despite predictions of an SBT

triumph the CDU handily held control. This was regarded as a confirmation of the party's comfortable and conservative policies. It has been suggested since that the SPDC has peaked out that the 1965 election was the party's best chance and that after the disappointing results a downhill slide was inevitable. The first real test of this thesis came in the state elections for North Rhine-Westphalia on July 10th. Here now is Bill Ashley with a brief report about the state of North Rhine-Westphalia itself. North Rhine-Westphalia is without question the most important state or Land of the 11 states that make up West Germany geographically. It's in the very heart of the country north of the Black Forest in the mountains of Bavaria south of Hamburg in the lush plains of sledges beholds dine. It's equal in area to Massachusetts and Connecticut and includes some of the country's

busiest waterways the Rhine Moselle. These are and rural rivers and the Dortmund ands come now. North Rhine-Westphalia has been called the Land of the Black Diamond the rouer River Valley is the industrial heartland of all of Western Europe. This is the land of coal mines in steelworks s and Dortmund Deweese burg Oberhausen both from the cities of the rue or other Pittsburgh's in the Gary Indiana of Germany. West Germany has a population of fifty eight point five million North Rhine-Westphalia encompasses sixteen point seven million of these more in fact than the entire population of East Germany. There are more than twelve hundred people per square mile in the state. More than double the Countrywide average about the state. West Berlin Mayor Willie Brandt recently said North Rhine-Westphalia is not just any state but the most important state. It is not only the most populous but also the

one with the most influence on federal policies and politics. It's no accident that West Germany's temporary capital bond is located in North Rhine-Westphalia because of its importance North Rhine-Westphalia is politically the New York State of the East Coast and the California of the West Coast all rolled into one. Partly because of the political situation throughout West Germany and partly because of the importance of North Rhine-Westphalia itself. National attention was focused on the job by 10th the election. At stake was the local parliament all 200 seats and with control of the legislature comes controlled two of the five state seats in the upper house of the federal government. The bonus a lot because the Christian Democrats have held just a slim majority in the bluntest throughout the election could well have swung control of the Upper House to the Social Democrats. The election results were clear enough for the first time the Social

Democrats gained a solid plurality of the votes cast more than forty nine percent as compared with forty three point three percent four years ago. Most of the SBT gains were at the expense of the Christian Democrats whose total dropped from over 46 percent four years ago to less than 43 percent now. The Free Democrats remain low under 10 percent. As a result of the election the Social Democrats now control ninety nine out of the 200 seats in the state legislature to short of an absolute majority. Just what sort of a government will be formed the SPDM lone as a minority party. A coalition of the FPP and the CDU. Or a grand coalition of the SPDC and the CDU is not yet clear on this decision hangs control of the upper house of the federal government. But regardless of the makeup of the new state government

it will not dim the social democratic triumph. A triumph some have interpreted as being the beginning of the end for the too date unbroken Christian democratic rule of the Federal Republic in a very general way. The Christian Democrats are known as the party of the bourgeoisie the Social Democrats the party of labor. Nowhere is this distinction clearer than in the city of Essen in the very center of the industrial Ruhr Valley where the steel mills stretch out to the east. The coal mines to the west and where such giant firms as Klip are headquartered. On Election Day in Essen I found that opinions all too frequently held to the simple one stereotype generalization. A Christian Democrat voter for example. Which party do you think you don't have a no no opinion. I do the same like my father it's a city you know and your father will see you and every time every time with tone we're

talking about this med and him. And I'm too young to say which one is right now. But why does your father both see you because he is a man who got a company you know. And I just know the difference between CDO and SB this SBT is just for working men and another CDU voter I think most of the people here in the bay because it is the center of the mining but I think that the party will not win. You think most of the workers will vote yes indeed the most of the workers here because they doubt if they are minors and that's what. Voting SPDC. Does the church have much influence in the US as the church. Tell the workers how to vote. So yes I think it has much influence especially to the women. Most of the Catholics to see you. Yeah I think so. Me too I'm Catholic but it isn't because I'm a Catholic that I would see this

because it's my opinion. The woman's comments about the influence of the church in German politics is significant. Voting is always on Sunday and no campaigning is allowed on Election Day but it is a well-known fact that in the early years of the Federal Republic the Christian Democrats drew much of their support particularly in rural areas from the Catholic pulpit on election Sunday congregations were often told to vote Christian. Today there was a little question which party this meant that party with the word Christian in its name. The CDU. Now this trend is changing. The only advice coming from the Catholic pulpit now is vote your conscience. But back to the city of Essen the great majority of the population of seven hundred fifty thousand are workers laborers and miners in the settlements on

the outskirts of town. The volatile calm the voting places are set up more often than not in the neighborhood bar or pub. They're the workers dressed in their Sunday suits parade in to vote before or after a draft beer. The workers reactions are often a stereotyped as the CDU voters heard above a coal miner just after voting at the Gasthaus phone into a colorful three hundred fifty year old pub on the outskirts of Essen sorted you vote today in the election. I won't be sworn in for this baby. You voted for the SBT Why did you vote for the SBT. You know it is a speedy Patty Patty for the moment for the whole class and I don't. It's wings. Vote yes I see. And do you think that most other people in coal mines most other workers feel this way.

Yes yes. The school and I walk I know that they will vote for SB and I see. Do you always vote for the SPDC. Always do you think that they perhaps today will win. Yeah I hope so. The Asam coal miners hopes came true. The Social Democratic Party swept the city of seven seats at stake for the North Rhine-Westphalia parliament. The SPDC gained 6 2 more than in the previous election. The single seat taken by the CDU was in fact the only CDU seat from the entire Ruhr Valley area. One of the new Social Democratic office holders is possible. It was his third try. His first success. Then he's out of this election. Was not a surprise for me. I have expected it. The population is very disappointed in both. First of all of the chancellor do you think that this election triumph

for the social democrats do you think this is a victory for the villi blunt as some papers have termed it or do you think there's another reason for it. Very is out of this election is a vote for really brightened and his policy. But first of all it is a defeat for asked for Chancellor or Chancellor. And why do you say this Chancellor Ehrhardt after all was the leader of the party and. He is known as the man responsible for Germany's famous economic miracle. And yet you think this is a defeat for Chancellor Erhard why Dr. Ehrhart took one of the many far economic economic questions. But he is not a concert. He had not the Sunday to push through his idea. Now another thing that has been suggested by many newspapers many commentators

many analysts for the defeat of the Christian Democrats is the fact that chance one of the big yaad recently gave a speech in one of the ROR Valley mining towns and during this political speech he was harassed he was booed by the crowd of miners and workers. And the chancellor as he has done in the past. Replied to this insult by insulting them. How do you feel about this. This peach is off chancellor in go from kick and when I was in vote for the population that's to be the population the mind us. Made the basis for the economic reconstruction with Germany after the war. And this speech is. Off transfer well and thought Chancellor Erhard's insult of the workers about which this newly elected SPDC officeholder speaks

occurred on July 6th. Speaking to a crowd of 8000 at Belsen Ticken in the middle of the rural area Erhard was heckled by a number of miners protesting the closing of the local mines. The chancellor lost his cool before retreating from the speaker's platform. He responded to the intimidation by saying you Ruffins would have died in your diapers if it hadn't been for me and my policies. The ensign of course received heavy play in the press. The Social Democrats were delighted. Such sensitivity by public figures particularly by Chancellor Erhard is all too common in German political life. In fact a low point of the last national campaign occurred when Erhard labelled a group of intellectual critics of his policies. Author going to gloss among them as pinches little snapping terriers. Dr Vilhelm diploma

a former journalist and speedy official now a professor of law at Cologne explains the phenomenon this way. I think that this is part of our opinion of hot you know he is coming from the old innovation and the old going of Asian. I'm not able to understand that the people in a democracy. Said Most say not only yes if the government said anything so that ma gives them and they all die. They can't understand that people get them to say oh no we don't like what you say and if they said loudly and so I think it's a want to point off question off again at ation. I see now he has done this in the past he has done this in the last campaign last September he criticised some of the intellectuals of Germany going to go us and

others and yeah. And do you think this this reaction of his is typical of all politicians of his generation in Germany. Yes I am afraid that a lot. And what effect do you think it has do you think it has any effect on the young voters and the old in any case in any case. Young voters I'm not. Not it could be the fifth kind and they're not because they're not particularly the older people are not so tolerant. If they want to be and how about the older voters how do you think they react out of all of us don't they know the out of all of the voters and I stand for that opinion and thoughts off. Yeah after I got it because they are of the same generation you see there is one thing more to be said about Chancellor Erhard's confrontation with the echoing miners during the campaign. The miners have a legitimate gripe

in the rural area. Mines have been shutting down and thus job retraining has been necessary. Housing remains a big problem and to date the government has been reluctant to promise any great subsidies to the area. An indication of the depth of the problem lies in the fact that the CDU diverted a coal strike which would have affected the entire country only days before the election. And as a lawyer Peter Heineman son of the former minister of the Interior under Konrad Adenauer talks of the situation. Our area is based upon the coal and steel industries. And knowledge of coal is threatened by the competition of. International Coal for example of American coal and bought all the buys of oil. So for these reasons many coal mines are being closed and miners are forced to seek new work and the people here have understanding that the last government of North Rhine-Westphalia has not care much about these

problems. Is there any reason to believe that the Social Democrats now that they have won or apparently won control of the North Rhine-Westphalia government can find a solution for these problems. They so hope said Social Democrats forms a new government. They were more. Active. And progressive and not so complacent as the last government. The last government of the Christian Democrats had trials. They didn't profit off this chance a route to a negative. Do you feel that the results of this election were based more on local issues or on national issues. Certainly those local issues were are more important for the result of these elections. Lots of background of the national situation in which the Social Democrats bring more moving and more progress as trends in the Falls of the Social Democrats.

The campaign for the North Rhine-Westphalia elections began in earnest back in May. All of the big names of West German political life participated with the usual political pomp and circumstance flashy posters speeches and rallies. Rock n roll bands youth groups mailboxes were filled with a variety of spicy handouts and radio and television slots with short snappy plugs for the various candidates. Party slogans were very much in vogue Maya's mocked us. Myers can do it so the Christian Democrats about their leader. The Social Democrat slogan was simple one upmanship SPV mocked us Besa the SPDC can do it better. Only one thing was missing compared to an American campaign $100 a plate dinners and fund raising drives in West Germany. Most campaign funds come from taxes. Each party is allotted a certain

amount based on its total of registered voters. The arrangement seems one designed to preserve the status quo but it has an appeal to ever money hungry political parties. As the campaign progressed the issues became clearer a need for more and better schools and end of village parochial teaching. The various problems of the miners in the Ruhr Valley. Equally as important were national issues the big national issue. Now as always is the German question. Reunification in the past six months the Social Democratic Party has shown some refreshing imagination in this regard although the long talked about speakers exchange between the social democrat leaders and the communist SCD leaders of East Germany fell through in mid-June simply the fact that the effort was made seemed to work for the Social Democrats in the election.

The clear result of the election was that the Social Democrats gained a solid poor ality of the votes for the first time in the most important state in West Germany. In this fact wise the significance of the election. It was a kind of first for the perennial also ran party. As I learned from an official of the losing party Walter Emerick Christian Democrat Party leader in housen. You must see our Democrats in Gemini is 20 years old. You brought us the American people. Government brought us in this democratically and it is naturally that in a democratic advance the one party in advance the other parties in power. In Germany we only had the Questar Democratic party in power and I'm sure that our Democrats see is completed when the other party is on power any time.

This is interesting. For example many people have have called this victory a victory for West Berlin mayor Billy Boy and the head of the Social Democrats. And this has been suggested that since he took the initiative. To try to effect a speaker's exchange between the East German SCD party the Communist Party of East Germany and the Social Democratic Party of the West Germany since he took this initiative even though it failed that this was a and important thing and that all Germans favored this. I don't think that the success of this election for the social democrats depends on the mayor of building really bronze. It depends on several system of our parties. The SPDC has is naturally not responsible for some

mistakes we have in politics in Germany I'm very proud that the other party the esprit de took the initiative to try this speech or the voter can see that the Communists are not able and are not willing. From have political aims to have this discussion and as a German citizen I repeat I am very proud that any party had the initiative as this official of the losing Christian Democrats pointed out. The July 10th the North Rhine-Westphalia elections marked an important milestone in the post-war democratic development of the Federal Republic. The Social Democratic Party finally achieved some really significant results results which partly confirm the population's continuing desire for new attempts to resolve the longstanding German question because of the slimness

of the social democratic triumph. It is not yet known just how or even whether the party will take control of the North Rhine-Westphalia government. This isn't the important thing. The victory is as SPDC leader Billy blunt put it. North Rhine-Westphalia is the key with which we can open the door to Bonn. This is Crocker Snowe speaking from the studios of Radio Deutsch of Cologne West Germany.