European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 2, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sur Day december 2, 1990 the stars and stripes f Page 9eastern states join ballot free for All by de reams staff writer to the uninitiated today s National election a the 12th German parliamentary vote since the end of world War ii a May seem like a confusing mass of parties candidates districts and electoral rules. That a because it is. And it is further complicated this year by the addition of the five states in what was once East Germany. In fact today s balloting represents the first All German elections since March 5, 1933, two months after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of the Reich. The German process is in essence a mixture of the traditional parliamentary system such As in the United kingdom and the american preference for direct election of National leaders. About 60 million citizens 18 years and older in 16 German states Are eligible to vote. Turnout traditionally is Between 80 percent and 90 percent according to the German Federal election office in Wiesbaden. In All 24 parties and groups Are vying for seats in the new German bundestag or parliament. Seven parties will Back candidates in All 16 states the social democrats spa liberals Ftp party of democratic socialism ads republicans re Gray panthers National party of Germany Ned and the ecological democratic party old. The ruling Christian democratic Union cd be running in All states but Bavaria and the g Union and the bund is 90 coalition 90 exist Only in the new states and Berlin. By american standards the German electoral system seems complicated because All voters receive in effect two votes or  a the bundestag is supposed to have 656 seats although the Complex system sometimes re Cults in Addi candidates for Chancellor Dcosta will Rcck party will Hin in All states except the five new ones in former East Germany. The Usu German social i parties then fill the Bun a seats in proportion to their share of the Overall vote. The appointments Are made from prepared party tonal ones. The first vote goes directly to candidates running in the country a 328 voting districts. Onty one candidate can win a District and take that seat in the bundestag. Most of these seats will be won by members of the spa or cd except in Bavaria where the Christian social Union Csc runs in place of the cd. Voters cast their second vote for registered parties. This second vote is often called a the Chancellor vote because the a Ter also is choosing Between the parties lists. The second vote will be used to scat another 328 Parliman tartans. The second vote is important for Small parties such As the Ftp or the greens which win few districts outright. These smaller parties usually must receive 5 percent of the second vote in order to be seated in the state or Federal parliaments. An exception to the 5 percent Rule has been made this time to favor the smaller parties and groups founded in the new states in the East. A thus the coalition 90 group composed of citizens who played Active roles in the resistance movement that wrought Down the communist regime will have a Chance of icing represented in the new parliament. That also Means the party of democratic socialism ads the successor to the old communist party should be seated in the bundestag. In the German government it is the Chancellor who determines policy guidelines. Yet the bundestag has the Power of to new no confidences vote to rid itself of a Chancellor who loses majority support. From Page 1 Quot Mer West and East German that $68 billion would be needed for 1990 and 1991. Others have said the Cost could climb to $200 billion for the two years. A have the courage to say that you made a major mistake about the Cost of Unity a la Fontaine told Kohl in september. Until nov. 18, Koh rebuffed. Each charge. A there will be no tax increases in connection with the problems caused by German Unity a he had said earlier. But on that sunday Kohl backed off and added a new word to his political vocabulary. In a speech he said the next bundestag will have a to talk about increasing fees a these fees could pay for environmental Protection measures he said. Such Steps Are needed to clean up the widespread pollution in Eastern Germany. Tax increases on the other hand were a the wrong signal a he told his Munich audience to Lafontaine they Are the right signal. And he said a government led by him would Start by tacking on a tax for the group he Calls the a top  such a tax could bring in 10 billion Marks a year. Another Point of departure for the two candidates is German unification itself. Kohl has built his Campaign on the past Lafontaine has built his on the future while Kohl talks of the historic hour of German unification Lafontaine mocks the chancellors emphasis on Germany historical achievements a a a let a seize this Chance of the Century a Kohl told thousands of supporters at a Frankfurt rally late in the Campaign. True to his patriotic platform Kohl shows Germany s red Black and Gold Flag at every Opportunity. In the Grano style of Ronald Reagan the Flag adorned the speakers podium in Frankfurt and the huge sign proclaimed Kohls Campaign a i a yes to Germany. Yes to the fun Gentian Pahy platforms Twenty four parties have nominated candidates for today selection. Some of these parties Are regional others Are a a National. The following just Breaks Down the views of the National parties on three major issues. East forty Christian democratic Union social democrats free democrats the liberals party of democratic Sola tests the greens National party of Germany the republicans taxes opposes a tax increase to finance German unification. Proposes tax 1 increases for top earners and a tax based on the pollution that a vehicle causes rejects any tax increase. Wants a tax break for businesses in the former East Germany. Wants a tax boost for business and tax Reform to help the poor seeks tax Reform for the poor. Endorses a slight tax increase to pay for repairs in former East Germany. Opposes any tax increases. Defense says Germany should help build a new european Security system. Calls for a drastic reduction in the  to Stop German arms exports to the third world. Says nato should build a new Era of european cooperation opposes German membership in nato proposes to do away with the German military. A favors an eventual end Tonato. Supports a Strong nato partners help foreign policy endorses a european Union. Calls for the european economic Community to be strengthened and committed to helping Eastern Europe. Works for the a integration of Europe. I wants to drop repayment of Loans made to third world countries. Demands More economic and environmental Aid for third world countries proclaims that Germany should belong to the germans. Wants to prevent t multicultural society. Also contains slogan Ture. Together we a do it. The patriotic message criticism of Lafontaine. A the person who raises questions each Day about the Cost of unification also Calls the unification of Germany into question a said Kohls finance minister Theo Taigel. Lafontaine adamantly refuses to take Kohls pledge of allegiance saying a that we want a different  a an economic Boom in Western Germany and an economic collapse in Eastern Germany never was my vision of a unified Germany a the challenger said Lafontaine had continually opposed the rapid Pace of unification asserting that Kohls policies would cripple the prospects of economic growth in the East in addition German Unity has not done away with the major environmental issues of the go West Germany he said. The Campaign has been coloured by a amps Susan Harris Many other differences Between East and West As the unified Germany tries to Bridge the chasm Between communism and capitalism. 1. A considerable r differences Haye emerged Over the last 40 years and we will hot be Able to change them with just one stroke of the pen a said Peter Jounen Winters Berlin correspondent for the Frankfurter Aji Gemeiner who spoke recently on the election Campaign to a group of International journalists a the real existing Wall has been Tom Down but there is still a kind of Wall in Peoples minds. From interviews with a number of politicians the issues where Clear differences Between the two sections of the country have emerged include la the environment Western German politicians put a priority on new Environ mental legislation to clean up the East Many East germans acknowledge the problems but think that the  housing Are More pressing issues. A property property ownership in the East is a hot question. East German businesses badly need investment from the West but Many in the West Are claiming property in Eastern Germany that was taken from them by the nazis or the communists. Competing claims of ownership could perilously delay of drive away investment. A the. Medical system the Christian democrats want to privatize the medical system in Eastern Germany. But health care professionals and Many residents in the former East Germany Are reluctant a foreign policy the majority of people in former East Germany want an end to Germany a Alliance with nato by dad Tarrant a staff writer Dresden Germany a the Young Man in Eastern Germany has Only one Issue on his mind jobs. A a he works seven Days a week in a Small eur in Lubbon about 60 Miles North of Dresden. His goal is to buy the business but to do that he will need 100,000 Marks $60,000. That wont be easy on a salary of Only 1,000 Marks a month. It s even harder when the Economy in the territory of former East Germany is slipping rapidly into chaos and when hundreds of peo pie Are leaving his town every month for better absinthe West still like Many people who lived under40 years of communist Rule this Man pins his Hopes on sundays balloting. A the elections did t make any difference in the past. They were manipulated a he said. A now i take it very seriously myself a like Long term physical therapy Boli Ticiano Are preparing the people Here for a lengthy difficult period of rehabilitating the Economy and society. In Dresden which was reduced to burned out Jumius after the British and american fire Ortung in 1945, politicians say the revival of the people will take longer than the postwar reconstruction a six years of that War did not do the damage that 40 years under communism did said Michael Kinze a spokesman for the Christian democrats  political party in the state of Sachsen. Kinze Saia that communism created a bloated and inefficient work Force. A the factories and plants were to broken and corrupt and overloaded with people they were not Able to introduce efficiency Fie said a to become healthy these factories will have to shrink and that Means people losing their  its not the kind of Campaign platform that normally wins elections but Kinze said that a at least for the time being the party still enjoys the warm support of the people in the Street. Still Many Young skilled workers Are voting with their feet. Every month at least 10,000 leave the former East Germany for better paying positions in the West. This deeply worries new government leaders such As Kinze they need these workers to prevent the new beginning from being stillborn. A if you see a bus Driver earning 5 Marks an hour sitting in his bus in Dresden and he sees an and for the same position in Stuttgart for 20 Marks an hour How Long will he stay Here a Kinze asked