A LARGER WEST GERMANY AND A SMALLER FRANCE

As the monetary crisis abated last week, European statesmen were pleasantly surprised at the relative mildness of its immediate economic after effects. Thanks mainly to France's severe austerity program, the franc regained some of its strength, and the free world's finely balanced monetary system was spared, at least for the moment, a major upheaval (see BUSINESS). But the political consequences of the crisis continued to reverberate in half a dozen capitals, The West Germans had defended the Deutsche Mark against the combined efforts of France, Britain and the U.S. to bring about the mark's upward revaluation, a move that would have relieved the pressure on the ailing franc and pound. In the process, the Germans displayed an independence--and a political muscle--unknown in the years since their defeat in 1945. Other Europeans found that display disturbing. As West German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Willy Brandt lamented: "Old, not to say atavistic instincts of distrust were awakened in Europe."

Leaks in Bonn. Many of Bonn's allies were a little spooked by the prospect of a newly assertive West Germany. To a degree, their uneasiness was a reflex born of two world wars instigated by the Germans in the 20th century. The Bonn government had not helped matters in the current crisis. Usually, it is, if anything, overly concerned about European sensibilities. But this time, the West Germans inexplicably forgot their manners. A main offender was Conrad Ahlers, the former Der Spiegel newsmagazine editor who now is the Federal Republic's deputy spokesman. During the Bonn meeting of the world's financial authorities two weeks ago, Ahlers offered injudicious portrayals of some of the Western representatives' behavior behind the closed doors, characterizing them as "uncouth," "ill-bred" and "impudent."

Ahlers even leaked a report that in a message to Chancellor Kurt Kiesinger, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson had attempted to blackmail Bonn into raising the value of the Deutsche Mark by threatening to withdraw Britain's 48,500-man Army of the Rhine from West Germany. In the House of Commons, Wilson flatly denounced Ahlers' story as "quite false." "I deplore this," said the Prime Minister, adding: "I have never known such a thing in four years of communications with over 100 heads of government."

Though Ahlers doubtless talked too much, average Germans and the German press could hardly be blamed for displaying a bit of self-satisfied pride in the strength of their currency. But as soon as the leaders of Bonn's Grand Coalition sensed how poorly the German gloating was being received elsewhere in Europe, they moved without hesitation to curb the enthusiasm of their countrymen. In a radio interview, Willy Brandt gave the Germans a lesson in prudent international etiquette. Said the Foreign Minister: "Arrogance toward our neighbors and partners would be stupid and dangerous." Chancellor Kiesinger warned his people about developing pretensions of grandeur. "In the journalistic utterances abroad during the past days, there were voices that spoke of an alleged shift of power within Europe to Bonn," he said. "I would like to warn my fellow-countrymen urgently against falling for such slogans. Nothing could be more unbecoming to us than such a presumption, which in any case betrays a lack of comprehension of the true situation in Europe."

Position of Primacy. Kiesinger's pronouncement was perhaps reassuring to his fellow Europeans, but it was slightly disingenuous. West Germany's economic primacy in Europe is a fact, and so is the political leverage that goes with it, whether exercised or not. Charles de Gaulle's defiant and determined effort to preserve the parity of the franc cannot mask the reality of France's diminished stature. In order to stop the outflow of francs, France is now sealed behind a monetary barrier, deprived of much of the economic freedom that De Gaulle has used in the past to act as arbiter of Europe and counterweight to West Germany. Nothing so underscored France's reduced position as the cancellation of next year's nuclear tests in the Pacific, in which France was expected to explode its first missile-sized H-bomb. Doubtless the general will continue to talk of grandeur and gloire with his familiar fervor, but until the soundness of the franc is restored, the old perorations must necessarily have a hollow ring.

The new disparity in power relationships in Western Europe may open new opportunities for U.S. diplomacy. De Gaulle has summoned to Paris many of his top ambassadors for a thoroughgoing review of French foreign policy. The result of that review could lead to at least a partial resumption of that sense of common purpose that once bound France not only to its European allies but also to the U.S.

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