Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-09-17
Adenouer's Triumph


The free people Of pattitioned Ger
many now have given their answer to
Soviet efforts to caiole and hull6oze
them into a liberty destroying kind of
"neutralism" between Moscow ana the
West. The answer is an emphatic and
immensely gratifying mo. "
This has been made abundantly
clear by the outcome Of Sundays ma
tionwide parliamentary elections. Cham
cellor Konrad Adenauer and hiS Chris
tan Democratic Union have done more
than just retain their absolute majority
in the Bundestag, the all-important
lower house Of free Germany's legislative
system. Winning 27O Of the 4D7 seats
involved, they have also scored signifi-
cant gains In terms of popular support.
Thus, out of the 81 million votes cast,
they have gaFnered in excess Of so per
cent as compared with some As per cent
in 1858. And that fact speaks pretty
much for itself as d measure Of the cleo
torate's reaction to the Krenlin's cam
paign to inveigle or intin1idate Bonn into
loosening its ties with the west and
pulling out Of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization.
BY way of contrast, Erich ollen-
hauer and his Social Democratic Party,
although their popular support has In
creased slightly since the 1855 vote, have
emerged from Sundays test with only
160 seats, This is respectable total,
but it falls far short Of being enough to
make their policy potent factor in the
Bundestag's future deliberations. That
policy, as set forth during the campaign,
is notably vague in manyrespects, espe-
cially in the foreign field, and its very
vaguenesS- lack Of forthrightness.
It's somewhat equivocal position as re-
CARDS NATO, its tendency to firt with
the idea Of "neutralism'' and It's general
wishy-washiness vis-a-vis the Kremlin
seems to have been decisive In per-
suading the West Germans that to vote
again for DR.. Adenauer, ana more over
whelmingly than ever before, would be
the wiseSt course for them TO follow to
safeguard their security and advance
the cause Of Germany's reunincation in
freedom.
In any case, Dr. Adenauer's enor-
mously impressive victory means that
the Christian Democrats win remain in
governing power for the next four years
with q program committing West Ger
many, in the Chancellor's words, to give
"all its political and moral support TO
fun participation in NAT0. In addi-
ton, the victory means that Bonn has
a mandate to adhere unwaveringly to its
policy OF seeking to reunify the country
on the basis of genuinely free elections.
without bargaining away the slightest
degree of sovereignty to the Kremlin.
And the mandate calls also for con-
tinuing and mounting cooperation With
France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands
and Luxembourg to prOn1pte western
EurOpe's integration through establish
ment Of . common economic market
and supranatiOnal agency for peaceful
atomic development.
All in all, therefore, DR.. Adenauer's
latest triumph may heEeuarded Is an
event Of prime historical Importance.
And it must I'LL Nikita Khrushchev and
his colleagues with cohSiderabl6 ainhhp-
piness, the more so betause they know
that the people Of East Germany, If
given the chance, would vote for freedom
as resoundingly as have their western
compatriots. Nothing could better illus
trate the bankruptcy Of this particular
aspect Of Soviet policy.