GERMANY'S FUTURE EUROPE'S FATE - Gene H Hogberg - June 1983

Gene H Hogberg

West Germany is the hinge of the Western alliance. Little wonder that powerful forces on all sides are deeply involved in this pivotal nation's future. In March, voters in West Germany went to the polls in an election billed as the most important one in that nation's 34-year history. Incumbent Chancellor Helmut Kohl emerged with a resounding victory. His center right coalition of Christian Democrats, Bavarian Christian Socialists and Free Democrats was returned to power with a convincing 55.6 percent of the vote, a figure considered high in the Federal Republic's traditionally close national elections. The United States government signaled its immediate approval of the electoral outcome. France breathed a sigh of relief. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, which had hoped for a victory by the Social Democratic candidate, Hans-Jochen Vogel, expressed its dismay at the outcome. - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library