The Maiden Comes of Age

For years, German-American relations resembled nothing so much as a late 18th century romantic novel, with a fluttery maiden (the Federal Republic), a sometimes cold lover (the U.S.), with dialogue full of Sturm und Drang. Everytime a Senator would complain about the high cost of keeping six U.S. divisions in West Germany, shudders would run up Bonn spines. Every time the cold war would thaw a bit, Bonn would demand reassurance--once again --that permanent division of Germany would not be the price of a Soviet-U.S. rapprochement.

The U.S., on its side, demanded absolute fidelity. The whole pattern of worry, reassurance and more worry, says one State Department official, became as ritualistic as the mating "dance of the cranes." No more. When Bonn's new Foreign Minister Willy Brandt arrived in Washington last week, it was clear that this particular dance at least was over.

About Face. The change is more psychological than substantive, but no less striking for that. The "grand coalition" formed by the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats in November has given Bonn policy makers a new confidence and allowed them to make overtures to the East that previously might have been politically impossible (see THE WORLD).

Bonn no longer believes that reunification can be brought about only by an unrelenting, tough stand toward the East. Rather, said Brandt last week, it "will be possible only within the framework of a general European detente, which we earnestly and sincerely seek." Significantly, Bonn forged ahead on its own and told the U.S. what it was up to only as a matter of courtesy.

Washington makes no secret of its relief about the new West German mood. The greetings for Brandt last week, in fact, could scarcely have been more effusive. Vice President Humphrey, a first-name friend for years, invited him up to his new apartment for breakfast. As Brandt stepped out of his Mercedes limousine at the State Department, 15 Marines formed an honor guard, a tribute extended to no other foreign visitor in memory. Yet, despite the new air of easy friendliness, Washington has been warned that it will have to bargain hard with the "new" Bonn on at least two matters of importance.

Though West Germany accepts the idea of a nuclear non-proliferation treaty, Brandt said last week, it will not sign any pact that inhibits its development of a peaceful atomic technology. And while the new government will honor ex-Chancellor Ludwig Erhard's agreement to contribute to the upkeep of U.S. troops ($675 million a year), it wants to cut that sum sharply after the agreement expires in June. Though Bonn privately expects the withdrawal of perhaps three American divisions this year, Brandt, as Foreign Minister of an energetic new regime, was not about to concede anything before he had to. "I am afraid," he said, "that the time for any significant relief for the United States has not come."

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