Banking on Friendship

It was a deal that could have been made only in the political otherworld of the two Germanys: deutsche marks in exchange for closer ties between people. The government of West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl last week approved backing for a private bank loan of more than $330 million to East Germany, the second time in two years that Bonn has guaranteed such a deal. In the language of diplomacy, the loan carried no conditions. But in the world of Realpolitik there were clear requirements, and it came as no surprise when the West German government also announced that East Germany will ease some of the restrictions that divide families and friends in the two countries. Among the improvements: West Germans can now spend 45 days a year instead of 30 on the other side of the border.

There appeared to be another important reason for the relaxations: East German Communist Party Leader Erich Honecker is due to make a four-day visit to West Germany in late September. Earlier this year Honecker allowed 27,182 East Germans to emigrate to the West. The loan accord is viewed as another "goodwill backdrop," in the words of a Western diplomat. A senior aide to Kohl hailed the transaction as the kind of step "we could only dream of years ago."