Chancellor confronts critics in party

Press, 21 April 1982, Page 8

Chancellor confronts critics in party

NZPA-Reuter Munich The West German, Chancellor (Mr Helmut Schmidt) set on steadying his troubled Left-Liberal coalition, takes on critics of Government policy in a speech today to the Social Democratic Party’s national congress. Mr Schmidt, under fire from within the S.P.D. over Bonn’s economic management and support .? for N.A.T.O.nuclear strategy, is expected to urge the party to close ranks in time for key state elections in . Hamburg and Hesse later this year. ' The S.P.D. has been badly mauled, in recent local, polls

which have fuelled speculation, that Mr Schmidt’s- alliance’ in Bonn with the Liberal Free Democrats cannot survive much longer. On the eve of the five-day conference, which opened yesterday in Munich's huge Olympic hall, Mr Schmidt appealed for an end to party in-fighting and demanded that, minority critics honour, majority'decisions. He was echoed by' the .party, leader and a former Chancellor, Willy Brandt, who tqld. the 440. delegates in a keynote address that the S.P.D. needed a new start ot revive, its flagging fortunes.

Mr Schmidt has staked his career on the 1979 N.A.T.O. decision to station new’ U.S. . medium-range missiles in West Europe from late next ■ year' unless the United States I and the Soviet Union agree ! before them on arms curbs. the S.P.D. has been I wracked by disputes over ■ alliance strategy, Left-wing critics demanding that Bonn renounce the idea of deployment or impose an arms freeze while U.S.-Soviet talks in Geneva continue. Mr Brandt also supported the _.decision to deploy the mis-' - siles in Europe.