Not till '63

With patience, stubbornness and political cunning. West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, 85, has for years avoided being pinned down on the fascinating question of when he will retire. Heirs apparent have aged while waiting in vain for der Alte to step down. Last week he was finally forced to commit himself. In order to form a coalition government between his Christian Democratic Union and Erich Mende's Free Democratic Party. Adenauer reportedly had to promise a written guarantee that he will resign the chancellorship. His distant deadline: summer 1963.

The Free Democrats, who scored heavily against Adenauer's C.D.U. in West Germany's recent elections, were in a strong bargaining position. Under a proposed deal with the C.D.U., the F.D.P. will get five of 18 ministries in the new government. The five: Finance, Transportation, Federal Assets (involving nationalized property) and two newly created ministries, European Affairs (which will presumably take over the direction of Common Market matters from the Foreign Ministry) and Scientific Research.

The Free Democrats will also provide the No. 2 men in the Defense. Foreign and other key ministries. No F.D.P. member, however, poses a serious threat to Adenauer's most likely successor, Economics Minister Ludwig Erhard. But all the government's major domestic and foreign-policy decisions will have to be cleared in advance through a "coalition committee." At week's end. the F.D.P. voted to accept the deal on one added condition that the C.D.U. will consider this week. The condition: that Foreign Minister Heinrich von Brentano be replaced, because the F.D.P. thinks he would not take a hard enough line in any East-West negotiations over Berlin.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.