German Election, 1957

Importance of Coming Vote to East and West

As the voters of West Germany get ready to go to the polls on Sept. 15 to elect a new federal legislature, leaders of the world's two great power blocs await the outcome with keenest interest. The strategic position, industrial strength, and developing military strength of the Federal Republic make it potentially the most powerful nation on the continent of Europe west of the Iron Curtain. As such, the make-up of its government is a matter of greatest importance to both the free world and the Communist world. The United States has gone out of its way, in a discreet manner, to do what it can to assure the continuance in power ...