AS West Germans celebrated Oktoberfest last week, the country fairly crackled with an excitement and ebullience that went far beyond the enjoyment of Gemüitlichkeit. On the streets, in restaurants, beer halls, offices and shops from West Berlin to Bavaria, West Germans could be heard engaged in a great, continuing national debate on the election that will be held Nov. 19. The vote, beyond ending a deadlock that has turned their Bundestag into a cockpit of frustration, will amount to nothing less than a referendum on the future of the Federal Republic. It...
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