Germans Annoyed With Dr. Adenauer

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28930, 25 June 1959, Page 13

Germans Annoyed With Dr. Adenauer

(Special Corresponaeni (Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, June 24. Though Dr. Adenauer is reported to have once again resolved his quarrel with his deputy, Dr. Ludwig Erhard, correspondents in Bonn say the Christian Democrat Party is becoming more annoyed and bewildered at the veteran statesman’s conduct.

The correspondents say his repeated criticisms of Britain have been as unpalatable to West German political circles as his rift with Dr Erhard.

They say that Dr. Adenauer, not content with stirring up controversy at home, has again “bought” into Big Four politics by more unwise criticism of the British Prime Minister (Mr Macmillan) and the United States Secretary of State (Mr Herter).

The latest cause of complaint was an interview given to an American correspondent passing through Bonn and widely publicised in West German papers. In it, the Chancellor criticised the British for striving for a summit conference. He said that at all costs the West would have to convince Mr Macmillan “that when one belongs to an alliance, one has to give up some of one’s own views The British must be convinced that

everybody must realise that not everybody can push through his own view.” Dr. Adenauer also suggested to Mr Macmillan that the way to deal with the Parliamentary Opposition was with a wooden hammer. Of Mr Herter, Dr. Adenauer said that if Mr John Foster Dulles had still been alive, there would have been unity between the Western Powers. The “News Chronicle’s” Bonn correspondent says the Chancellor’s obstinacy and petulance are causing consternation and doubt. “The Times” recalls that Dr Adenauer previously made a series of remarks against Britain He had called her a weak

ally among other things and said she would realise she could no longer hope to lead Continental Western Europe, a leadership which belonged to France and Germany. “This seems a strange way of achieving the unity which he wants,” it said. The “Manchester Guardian” says the Chancellor has suddenly taken to giving almost as many interviews as frustrated film stars. “The Social Democrats believe he is losing his grip and this belief is shared by a large section of the country’s independent press,” the paper said. In Bonn, the West German hews agency D.P.A., said today that Dr. Adenauer had resolved his latest quarrel with Dr. Erhard which began when the Chancellor expressed doubts in an interview with the “New York Times” about his deputy’s political ability and experience.

The agency said the settlement came after an exchange of letters between the two leaders, which was begun on the Chancellors initiative yesterday.

Professor Erhard said in a letter to the Chancellor today: “I am prepared to subjugate my personal sensitivities —but then I must have the guarantee that I may continue my work undisturbed.”