Basic HTML Version
PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, NOVEMBER 30, 1984
PAGE 13
regime established after World War I that slid into chaos and
collapsed, making way for Hitler. Another writes of banana re
publics.
A conservative politician says his constituents' mood evokes a
Wagnerian Gotterdamrnerung [ a catastrophic collapse of society}.
That, too, is an exaggeration, but also a disturbing sign that
public confidence, which must underpin
_§!
sturdy democracy, is
being eaten away� scandals about politics and money••..
The train of revelations about shady deals is reminiscent of
Watergate, in the sense that it keeps inching closer to the top.
Opponents are trying to implicate Chancellor Kohl himself••.. The
greater problem is that all the major parties have been involved
in payoffs and tax evasion charges that have filtered into public
view over several years. The result is growing public disgust
and disillusion with politicians in general. That is why commen
tators are fretting aloud about the future of German democra-
£:I..••••
The chancellor's junior coalition partners, the Free Democrats,
have already been shaken by the Flick scandals. The party is
melting away into impotence and insignificance. Opposition So
cial Democrats are deeply divided, essentially leaderless and in
creasingly irresponsible.
The anti-mi1itary, often anti-U.S.
left wing is growing--without offering any clear substitute pro
gram beyond a vague commitment to peace and better relations with
the East.
The only beneficiaries of the decline of traditional parties are
the Greens, who present themselves as the "alternative" to what
is shown as a sleazy establishment system.... They have yet to
decide whether they would deign to accept the responsibility of
joining the government if they got the chance, and no one can
foresee how they would use authority if they had it. But their
hostility to the whole spectrum of politics is spreading among a
public that does not necessarily support any of their specific
causes.
Attempts by Christian Democrats to charge them with
Nazi-style disruption have boomeranged. The Greens' criticisms
are more credible than the official denials.
The outlook is for continued erosion of political authority in
three crucial state elections next year. Mr. Kohl has until 1987
to face the voters. This does not mean West Germany is about to
fall apart, or make a sea change from allegiance to and coopera
tion with the West. Communism is discredited; even the far left
disdains the Eastern system. It does mean that the stolid, phys
ically reassuring figure of Chancellor Kohl stands on shifting
ground, and there is no one in sight to bring the country back to
firrn self-confidence. The questions about the future of West
Germany are getting bigger and hazier. The answers keep reced
ing. A feeling of fragility is especially upsetting here, given
the horrible past and the ambiguous issue of nationhood.
We'll try to keep everyone posted as more Flick affair revelations (Flick
gate?) are made.
--Gene H. Hogberg, News Bureau