WEST GERMANY An Old Man's Impulse
In the decade since he became Chancellor of West Germany, oaken-faced Konrad Adenauer has acquired in the minds of his countrymen the stature of a stern father—awe-inspiring, sometimes overrigid, the living symbol of righteous and unshakable purpose. But, though the public has seldom seen it, there is an obverse side to Adenauer's character: a nagging, emotional mistrustfulness that can convert him in the blink of an eye to a man of angry impulse. Last week Konrad Adenauer, 83, gave full rein to his impulsiveness and by doing so flawed an unsurpassed international reputation for rock-like consistency.
Two months ago, in a decision that seemed to mark the end of a noble political era, Adenauer abruptly announced that he would give up the powerful chancellorship and retreat into the semi-retirement of West Germany's presidency. He hoped still to help influence his country's destiny, while allowing a younger man to assume the day-to-day administration of the country. Der Alte, first and only leader of the new West German democracy that rose on the ruins of Naziism, would thus ensure an orderly first transfer of power. Instead, abruptly last week, Adenauer canceled these admirable arrangements, and proclaimed his determination to stay on as chancellor.
The Foretaste. Behind this startling about-face stretched a recent history of unaccustomed vacillation. Fearful that popular Socialist Carlo Schmid might win the presidential elections scheduled for July 1, Christian Democrat Adenauer three months ago tried to press his own party's presidential nomination on pudgy, cigar-chomping Economics Minister Ludwig Erhard, the "engineer of the German economic miracle." When Erhard, with the support of Christian Democratic backbenchers, refused to let himself be kicked upstairs, it marked the first successful defiance of Adenauer in his own party.
Smarting under this rebuff, Adenauer proclaimed his intention to run for the presidency himself, and all Germany applauded his solution. Adenauer thought that the ceremonial job might be converted into a post as prestigious as that occupied in France by his friend Charles de Gaulle, but after prolonged study of the West German constitution his lawyers said no. All the while, inside the Christian Democratic Party, a bitter fight was developing over who should succeed Adenauer as chancellor. The old man himself favored Finance Minister Franz Etzel, a quiet corporation lawyer who could be counted upon to accept tutelage. But the majority of Christian Democratic leaders clearly preferred—and intended to get—independent-minded Ludwig Erhard whose voter appeal is almost equal to that of Adenauer himself.