Word: bonne
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...state prosecutor, and budget cuts for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which oversees law enforcement. By thus challenging the state security apparatus, the unions were in effect directing a challenge at the heart of the Communist system itself. "This is absolute foolhardiness," said a worried East bloc specialist in Bonn. "This goes against Walesa's assurances that Solidarity's purpose was more economic than political. It adds to the tinder...
...Chancellor's visit came at a moment when new tensions were straining West German-U.S. relations. Schmidt's newly elected government had decided, though it had not yet announced it, that in 1981 Bonn would not meet its pledge to NATO to increase defense spending by 3%. Schmidt had apparently decided on a 1.75% increase. In light of the bleak economic conditions facing Western Europe, he reasoned that the 3% commitment, which he had vigorously favored at a 1978 European summit, "needs to be looked at anew." With only 5.3% inflation and 3.8% unemployment, West Germany...
...pull its military and psychological weight in NATO, particularly since several other member nations (notably Denmark and Belgium) had failed to meet their obligations. After learning of Washington's displeasure, Schmidt apparently backed away from his original decision, though he refused to be specific on how close Bonn would come to the 3% goal. On the eve of the Washington visit, the Chancellor's press spokesman, Klaus Boiling, insisted that "Bonn will fulfill its commitments to the North Atlantic Alliance." West German officials pointed out that Bonn has consistently come close to the 3% target in the past...
...visit, Schmidt met with Howard Baker, who is expected to be Senate majority leader in the new Congress. The week before, the Tennessee Republican had bitterly criticized the allies, including West Germany, for endangering NATO by failing to meet their defense obligations. The Chancellor sought to reassure Baker that Bonn would continue to meet its obligations. Late that afternoon, Schmidt walked around the corner from Blair House to the Jackson Place townhouse reserved for past Presidents and Presidents-elect, for an unscheduled hourlong meeting with Ronald Reagan, which Schmidt clearly considered a major diplomatic coup for himself...
With Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's Social Democrats now safely past the Oct. 5 election, Bonn has taken steps to cool off inflation. Two weeks ago, Schmidt decided on an $8 billion cut in 1981 spending, which will now be just 4.1% above the $114.4 billion 1980 budget. He also pulled out of a NATO pledge to raise military spending by 3% annually for 15 years-a move that may chill his reception this week in Washington, where he is due to arrive on a long-planned visit. Instead, Bonn will increase its defense budget, now $18 billion, by just...