World GDR moves to unification amid unease Issue could bring realignment By GERRY VAN HOUTEN In the aftermath of the March 18 elec- tions, the new political forces in the GDR are consolidating themselves. There are no surprises in the new government. Lothar de Maziere, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and head of the Alliance of Germany which included the German Social Union (DSU) and Democratic Awakening (DA), became prime minister. The Alliance members have 193 seats among them. As expected, the Social Democratic Party, with their 88 seats, joined the coali- tion, as did the Union of Free Democrats (BFD) with 21 seats and the National Democratic Party with two seats. (The National Democrats and the parties mak- ing up the BFD have announced their inten- tion to merge into a single party). Among them, the Alliance, SDP and the small liberal parties control 303 of the 400 seats in the Volkskammer — more than enough to change the GDR constitution and implement quick unification with West Germany. However, uneasiness with the prospect of unification has also grown. More and more East Germans fear the loss of the social gains won in the previous 40 years and sharp increases in rents and the prices of basic necessities. Tenants and particularly collective farmers are worried that the pre- vious Owners, whose property was exprop- riated by the GDR government, may come back and reclaim their apartments and land. peace FOR WORLD DISARMAMENT AND PLANETARY Fraser Valley Peace Council CHILE WACK. © MAY DAY GREETINGS to all our friends * working to make B.C. a “nuclear free zone”’ * working to stop low-level NATO flights * working to end the arms race * working for equality, full employment and CHILLIWACK & DISTRICT PEACE ALLIANCE More and more East Germans are. beginning to suspect that the FRG intends to turn the GDR into a united Germany’s poorhouse. Less tangible but still very important for many East Germans is the fear of losing of social values that could come about by join- ing a country characterized by a dog-eat- dog capitalism. It was these second thoughts (and the leadership of Gregor Gysi and Hans Modrow) that lay behind the last minute resurgence of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) toward the end of last month’s election campaign. The PDS won 66 seats. Other parties are worried about the con- sequences of quick unification, including: Alliance 90, which includes New Forum and Democracy Now, 12 seats; The Demo- cratic Farmers’ Party of Germany (DBD), 9 seats; an alliance of the Green Party and the Independent Women’s Union (UFV), 8 seats; the Democratic Women’s Federation (DFD), one seat; and the United Left Action Alliance (AVL), one seat. Together they hold 31 seats. Although sharing many of the same aims as the PDS, most of these smaller parties initially indicated that they preferred to work with SPD rather than the PDS. But they also clearly stated that they would reject co-operation with the SPD if it joined Greetings SURVIVAL 22 « Pacific Tribune, April 30, 1990 a CDU-led government. The SPD has done precisely that, forcing these parties to re-evaluate their attitude toward the PDS and make some tentative steps toward co-operation with the PDS. Recent demonstrations organized by the GDR’s trade unions against the West Ger- man government’s intention to renege on its promise to exchange one Deutschemark for each GDR mark enjoyed the supported of the PDS and the small left and democratic parties and movements. Potentially, the left and democratic opposition in the new parliament to the CDU-led grand coalition has 97 seats. There are also some flies in the ointment for the new governing grand coalition. Just before the SDP joined the coalition, SDP leader Ibrahim Boehme was forced to resign because of allegations that he worked with Stasi, the former GDR security police. The CDU leadership is also under a cloud. Both the prime minister and the secretary-general of the CDU have not been able to convincingly clear their names. There are hints that a number of parlia- mentarians elected under their party banner may have been Stasi informants. If con- firmed, the new government may run into some very serious difficulties with an electo- rate which is already angry with West Ger- man Chancellor Kohl’s broken promises. Like Boehme, de Maziere denies having any links with the Stasi but then Boehme and the leader of Democratic Awakening, Wolfgang Schnur, had also denied Stasi links. For its part, the PDS has called on the new Parliament to launch an investigation into the backgrounds of all 400 parliament- arians in order to establish whether or not they were Stasi agents. It has also called on Kohl to keep his promise of a one-to-one exchange and has been consistent and vigorous in fighting to preserve the positive gains and values of 40 years of socialism in the GDR. Worried about growing protests in the country against what is seen as betrayal by the FRG, the coalition government has back-tracked on its earlier commitment to quick unification. It is now taking positions which it hopes will shore up its declining support among East Germans. Meanwhile, Kohl now denies making a promise to exchange mark for mark. More than happy to dwell on the SED’s links with Stasi, he now calls for reconciliation and “more caution before pointing the finger.” West German Interior Minister Schaeuble declared also that not everyone who had links with Stasi committed a crime. Apparently, links with Stasi is only a crime if you are against quick unification. And it is not a crime if you defected to the CDU or SDP. Kohl is clearly worried that if these new revelations are not nipped in the bud, the new GDR government’s credibility will be lost and prejudice his grand plan for the creation of a Greater Germany. Kohl is not so much interested in keeping his promises as he is in entering the pages of German history as the man who reunified — Germany and destroyed socialism on Ger- man soil. In addition, he is manoeuvering to get himself re-elected as Chancellor in the West © German elections in December. Kohl has his eye on fears among West Germans that they will be the ones who will have to pay the price for unification through higher taxes and inflation. West Germans already resent the presence of about 500,000 East Germans who moved to the West. Convinced that he has the East in the bag, Kohl believes he can afford to disap- point East Germans while he gives the appearance to West Germans that he is taking their fears into account. Kohl hopes to improve his chances of being re-elected in the FRG elections this December by post- poning the problems of the costs of unifica-— tion to 1992. , ; Pp Kohl has demonstrated himself to besa very clever politician so far. But there are still a lot of hurdles for him to overcome before he can realize his dream of a Greater Germany. He is playing a dangerous balancing act which has begun to alienate Germans in both East and West. In any case, on May 6, East Germans will have another opportunity to express their opinions. On that day, municipal elections will take place. Kohl may not yet haved had the last word. Gerry) Van Houten is a former Tribune Berlin correspondent. a Oe ge Ae tg Mie Le DO MEE “Dl: Malas SF ihe, LOPES SD Di de le ee etal ial te singel Dedicated to the search for socialism in Canada May Day Greetings from the Centre for Socialist Education Federation of Russian Canadians MAY DAY GREETINGS and solidarity to all workers this May 1, the international holiday of working people. May full employment and world peace be realized.