OPEN HOUSE ON THE RHINE

IT was a scene reminiscent of 1829, when Andrew Jackson's mud-booted backwoods supporters swarmed into the White House for Old Hickory's Inaugural Day reception. Celebrating his election last week as West Germany's first postwar Socialist Chancellor, Willy Brandt invited all comers to his official villa on Bonn's exclusive Venusberg, overlooking the Rhine.

Brandt and his flaxen-haired Norwegian wife Rut were at the door to greet the crowd. More than 500 ordinary Germans, who normally would have been held back by police lines, trooped into the splendidly furnished 14-room residence. Stiff at first, they gawked at the Gobelin tapestry on the wall and perched awkwardly on the edge of burgundy settees and easy chairs. But the uneasiness quickly wore off. Soon workingmen in open shirts, longhaired youths and nurses from a nearby hospital were helping themselves to cigarettes, guzzling beer and surveying the place as if they owned it.

Loyal and Uncomfortable. It was a fitting if highly unorthodox way for the new Chancellor to commemorate his victory. For a while, there had been some doubt whether there would be a Brandt government at all. After last month's national elections, Brandt made a daring grab for power (TIME Cover, Oct. 10). Neither his Social Democrats nor the conservative Christian Democratic Union, partners for nearly three years in a Grand Coalition, had won an outright majority. Outmaneuvering the Christian Democrats, who won 242 seats in the 496-seat Bundestag to the Socialists' 224, Brandt formed an alliance with the tiny Free Democrats, whose 30 seats represented the balance of power. The question was, would the schizophrenic Free Democrats, split into left and right wings, remain sufficiently united to vote Brandt into power?

Taking no chances on anyone's missing last week's crucial balloting, whips for the Socialists and Free Democrats summoned their delegates to Bonn a day early. The precaution worked. As the Bundestag convened for the Kanzlerwahl (Chancellor's election), each Socialist and Free Democrat was in his place. While the votes were being tabulated, Brandt resorted to his favorite method of relieving tension: he snapped wooden matchsticks, going through an entire box in 20 minutes. Then came the announcement: 251 votes for Brandt, two over the required absolute majority; 235 votes against him; five abstentions, presumably including three by recalcitrant Free Democrats; and four ballots rendered invalid with markings like "poor Germany" and "nonsense."

Thus, 91 years to the day after Bismarck banned the Socialists from Imperial Germany and 39 years since the party last headed a government, a Socialist candidate was chosen to lead West Germany. Political Strategist Herbert Wehner, the fierce ex-Communist who masterminded the transformation of the Socialists from a blue-collar movement into a more broadly based party, rushed to embrace Brandt. Their dream finally realized, Brandt openly wept. "I am satisfied, grateful for the confidence and a little proud," he said a few moments later. Then the new Chancellor, who spent the Nazi years in Scandinavian exile, added: "Hitler has definitively lost."

The Christian Democrats, turned out of office for the first time since the founding of the Federal Republic in 1949, proved poor losers. To a man, the 242 C.D.U. legislators refused to applaud Brandt. Franz Josef Strauss, boss of the party's powerful Bavarian branch, refused to shake hands with Brandt. Outgoing Chancellor Kurt Kiesinger congratulated Brandt, but moments later he observed to newsmen: "We will see how long it lasts."

Positive No-Confidence. Under an ordinary parliamentary system, Brandt's narrow majority might prove short-lived indeed. In West Germany, however, it is not easy to topple a government. Mindful of the ease with which regimes fell during the Weimar Republic (21 in 14 years), the framers of West Germany's postwar constitution fashioned a device known as the "positive vote of no-confidence." It provides that a government can be dismissed only if the Bundestag simultaneously votes a new Chancellor into power. Says Brandt: "I can see no question on which this coalition could come apart in the next four years."

One reason for Brandt's confidence is that Wehner, a tough disciplinarian, has taken over the parliamentary leadership of the Socialists. He replaces Helmut Schmidt, who moved to the Defense Ministry in Brandt's new Cabinet, which has been streamlined from 19 to 14 portfolios. Karl Schiller, the erudite professor who has emerged as West Germany's most popular political figure, remains in the Economic Ministry; his first major act was to order an upward revaluation of the strong German mark, increasing its price from 250 to 27.30 (see BUSINESS). In a significant shift, former Justice Minister Horst Ehmke, 42, was appointed to the newly created post of Minister in the Chancellery. Serving as No. 2 man to the Chancellor, the former law professor thus becomes heir apparent to Brandt in the party lineup. As a reward for their support, the Free Democrats received three Cabinet posts. Brandt's old portfolio at the foreign ministry went to Walter Scheel, the Free Democrats' leader (see box).

Close to Home. Brandt's top priority is domestic. He hopes to achieve a more even distribution of the benefits that flow from Germany's continuing economic miracle. One reform is likely to take place in Germany's universities, where he would like to make more room for students from working-class backgrounds (only 10% of the student population at present). Other reforms include higher tax and social security payments for the rich with tax cuts for the low-wage earners.

Brandt's second priority is working for Western European unity. He will press for British entry into the Common Market even if it means offending the French. His third priority concerns West Germany's relations with the East. Though firmly committed to the West, Brandt is prepared to grant a measure of recognition to East Germany in return for closer contacts. He is also prepared to renounce claims to former German territories in Poland if the Communists will agree to a general accommodation that would reduce political tensions in Europe.

So far, the response has been remarkably positive. In an unusually long and cordial congratulatory telegram to Brandt, Soviet Premier Aleksei Kosygin expressed hope for "an improvement in the relations between the Federal Republic and the Soviet Union." The East German press has also struck a more conciliatory tone. As Brandt himself is fully aware, there is always the danger that the Communists might be playing on Western hopes for peace, and will later pull back from negotiations for better relations with West Germany. For his part, Brandt must move cautiously in order to avoid charges in West Germany that he is too eager to make concessions to the Communists.

Whatever the upshot of Brandt's initiative to the East, it does signify a willingness to experiment that has been lacking in recent Bonn Governments. In a sense, his open house for the people of Bonn symbolizes the same mood. Unburdened by a questionable past and refreshingly free of stuffiness. West Germany's new government is likely to be very much open to change.

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