Word: christiane
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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West Germany has done very well under the Christian Democrats, and to most Germans Chancellor Kiesinger is the model of what a statesman should look like-tall, dignified and silver-haired. In a straightforward popularity contest, he would probably outpoll Socialist Leader Willy Brandt 2 to 1. But there is a sense of fatigue in the C.D.U. slogans ("SECURELY INTO THE '70s"). Resorting to one of those polysyllabic German jawbreakers, pollsters claim that the voters are displaying a higher degree of Risikobereitschaft, or willingness to take risks. Brandt's reform-minded Socialists, with their advocacy of revaluation...
...almost palpable air of excitement and expectation was the fact that for the first time in the postwar era, Germans are facing the prospect of a neck-and-neck race. There is even a chance-if only a slim one-that after 20 years at the helm, the Christian Democrats may wind up in the opposition and that West Germany might be run by a Socialist-led government...
Junior Partners. Out of power since 1930, during the Weimar Republic, the Social Democratic Party (S.P.D.) has been the runner-up to the Christian Democrats (C.D.U.) in every federal election since 1949. Only 33 months ago, the Socialists left the opposition benches and became junior partners in a Grand Coalition under Christian Democratic Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger. This year their pre-election showing has been the most formidable ever...
Fearful of influencing the votes, Germany's polling organizations agreed to stop releasing results six weeks before election day. Even so, enough figures have leaked out to show that the Socialists may pull anywhere from 39% to 46% of the vote, v. 40% to 44% for the Christian Democrats. The fading Free Democrats will probably draw less than the 9.5% that they polled in 1965, while the ultra-rightist National Democrats (see following story) may draw 5%. The Communists will undoubtedly fall short of the 5% necessary for a party to win representation in the Bundestag...
...major reason for the NPD gains lies not so much in its strength as in the weakness of the government. West Germany is ruled by the Grand Coalition, a union of the two largest parties in parliament -the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party. While the two parties still compete fiercely in elections, many Germans feel they are indistinguishable. For those with serious objections to the government there is no alternative except to vote for an extremist, non government party. The situation in the United States would be analogous if the Democrats and Republicans joined in a government...