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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, January 25, 1980
Page 14
In his ventures out,ide of Bavaria, Strauss has tried to cultivate a new
image, one of self-control and statesmanlike conduct. During the Essen
bombardment, lDwever, this composure broke down. He yelled at the demon
strators, "I hope that the red terror will also be smashed here...What you
are doing here today will be the beginning of the end for the Left's
majority in this state and in West Germany."
Compounding his misfortune, he blamed the incident on Egon Bahr, a leading
ideologue for the ruling SPD. Strauss backed down, but not far enough.
Bahr filed suit which is still unresolved.
Mr. Strauss, accordinq to one source,"has not found his track yet." His
attempt to polish up his image as a serious national contender only seems
to have confused people. If he acts self-controlled, people say he's lost
his old fire. But whenever he reverts to his traditional form, critics
lambast him for his "dangerous, uncontrolled outbreaks."
As an example of this dilemma, Strauss has attempted to appear more states
manlike in parliamentary debates, sticking to voluminous facts in his
speeches, appealing to reason rather than emotion. Yet, a "factual
Strauss" bores people. Strauss's speaking forte is his unchallenged ability
to speak extemporaneously. He needs the prods of challengers and hecklers
to bring him out. A recent speech he gave in the Bundestag, for example,
was a total disaster. The opposition SPD delegates, employing a shrewd
tactic, refused to challenge him while he spoke. Restraining himself
Strauss stuck to his 60-page manuscript. The speech failed miserably.
Even pro CDU/CSU journalists in attendance asked, "What's happened to the
Strauss we used to know?"
The above incidents were bad enough, but perhaps the biggest blow of all
to the Strauss campaign to date has been the disclosure in December that
Bavarian border guards have been turning back refugees from Czechoslovakia
seeking political asylum in West Germany.
That such a thing could happen in defiance of all Bonn's rules precisely
in Herr Strauss's solid anti-Communist domain of Bavaria, stuck countless
Germans as ironic.
The "Green" Challenge
Thus Herr Strauss faces an uphill fight. But the wary Social Democrats
led by Chancellor Schmidt don't count him out, by any means. They have
their problems too. They are worried of losing the electoral strength of
the extreme left wing of their party.
The environmental movement--the so-called "Greens"--is quite strong in West
Germany. They are becoming organized as a political force. A green
alliance is now represented for the first time in a state parliament,
Bremen. The Greens and their friends--who feel the Socialists are not
doing enough to satisfy their concerns over the issues of the environment
and nuclear power--are planning to field candidates in the national
election. Pollsters give them a fair chance of overcoming the 5% vote
minimum barrier to gain national representation. It is certain that most
of their votes--and seats, if they are successful--would come at the
expense of the ruling SPD/Free Democrat parties.
Thus,
ironically, the youthful far left could help shoo the CDU/CSU and
arch-conservative Strauss into power. The possibility of a good showing
by "the Greens," reports London's Daily Telegraph "is the nightmare haunting
the Social Democrats and their Free Democratic allies."