WEST GERMANY: READY FOR THE PARLOR

THERE were the usual helicopter-borne candidates, convoys of black Mercedes limousines and free carnations for ladies in Stuttgart. But there was also something unusual in the air as West Germany prepared to go to the polls this Sunday, in the sixth general election since the Federal Republic was founded 20 years ago. Halls and market places were filled to overflowing for every major candidate. Women and young people turned up at political rallies in unprecedented numbers. Questions put to the candidates showed deep understanding of complex issues.

What caused the 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. Key to all speculation is the size of the undecided vote--and it may be as high as 26%.

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 of the German mark, bridge-building to the East, and greater worker participation in management and profit sharing will be the direct beneficiaries. Their constructive role as a partner in the Grand Coalition has helped them overcome the old fears that the "Sozis" would run wild if they gained power.

More Equal. The S.P.D.'s new image is a reflection of its talented, attractive leadership--in particular boyish-looking Karl August Fritz Schiller, 58, the brilliant Economics Minister who helped to end West Germany's 1966 recession and reduce unemployment from 700,000 to a minuscule 113,000, less than 1/2 of 1% of the working force. Schiller, whose election oratory has drawn some of the largest, most turbulent crowds of the campaign, has actually been overshadowing Brandt. He has been so successful on the stump that, despite his size (5 ft. 9 in., 135 Ibs.), German papers now call him the "election locomotive." It was Schiller who triggered a brief slanging match over Kiesinger's membership in the Nazi Party--and was immediately reminded that he had been a member too. The Swiss newspaper Die Weltwoche headlined the incident: EX-NAZIS CALL EX-NAZIS EX-NAZIS. But on the whole, the campaign has been remarkably clean.

The most interesting outcome of the election would undoubtedly be a government without the Christian Democrats, formed by the S.P.D. in a "Little" Coalition with the Free Democrats. Says F.D.P. Leader Walter Scheel: "It would be best for both the state and the other parties if the C.D.U. had the opportunity to modernize itself in the opposition." Even if the election resulted in no more than a renewal of the current Grand Coalition, the Social Democrats are likely to make their strongest showing yet. That would undoubtedly give them a greater voice in the formation and execution of West German policies in the early 1970s.

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