BRANDT WINS AGAIN

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31318, 14 March 1967, Page 17

BRANDT WINS AGAIN

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

WEST BERLIN, March 13. The Left-wing Social Democratic Party of the West German Foreign Minister, Mr Willy Brandt, retained its over-all majority in yesterday’s West Berlin City-State Parliamentary election, but there was a marked advance by the Christian Democratic Party of the West German Chancellor, Dr. Kurt George Kiesinger.

The Social Democrats, led in West Berlin by the Mayor, Mr Heinrich Albertz since he succeeded Mr Brandt last year, polled 56.9 per cent of the 1,582,608 votes cast, dropping 5 per cent on the last election in 1963, according to the provisional final count The Conservative Christian Democrats, enjoying growing prestige under the new Chancellor, took 32.9 per cent against the 28.9 per cent of 1963, when the party’s following slumped by eight per cent The small Free Democratic

Party, in lone opposition in the West German Bundestag (Lower House) since the two larger parties formed a coalition Government in Bonn last year, dropped from 7.9 per cent, continuing their wide decline in popularity. But the party cleared the five per cent hurdle which bars splinter parties from the city Parliament. Of the total 1,730,000 eligible voters—West Berlin has a population, of 2,200,000 about one million are women. Communists Up The Communist Party, which is banned in West Germany but allowed to function in West Berlin by the four powers who still retain the ultimate responsibility of Government, drew nearly 30,000 votes, increasing their share of the poll from 1.3 to two per cent. As with the East German party, it calls itself the Socialist Unity Party. The party deems the results a “major success and a good omen” for its prospects at the next election in 1971. Mr Albertz, a Protestant pastor who now leads the Social Democrats into their fourteenth successive year of rule, scorned the Communist showing as microscopic and considered it evidence that 98 per cent of West Berliners wanted democracy. He hinted that he may continue his party’s ruling coalition with the Free Democrats. According to provisional results, the Social Democrats now have 81 seats (previously 89), the Christian Democrats 47 (41), and the Free Democrats nine (10) in Parliament in which the number of seats has dropped from 140 to 137 since 1963.