Campaign Observations in East Germany - The Last Battle
By Johann Legner

In a few weeks a very fundamental point may change in the political landscape of reunited Germany. The country will possibly be governed by somebody who grew up in the former GDR. And the once totally-dominated-by-easterners PDS will have a parliamentary group, with some prominent figures and a majority of members from the west. The whole debate about the two parts of the country, which came together in 1990, will have a very different context.

Many observers and for sure a large majority of voters, especially in the east, may still not be very conscious about the consequences of these developments. But there is an ominous feeling that something important is about to happen. If you look closely at the campaign in the east, you get a certain idea about the coming changes. I would like to describe it as the last battle of the east, a battle that is fought by those who for the last fifteen years have incorporated the prejudices against the west and who will finally lose, even if their party, the PDS, returns to the Bundestag in large numbers and could be the dominant force in the East.

Those who never totally accepted the fundamental values of the west, who feel estranged by a culture that is orientated towards the societies of the old democracies, waited for their chance in this campaign and they will get it quite soon. They got the pretext from a member of the CDU-Präsidium, Jörg Schönbohm. This man is a rather prominent political figure in the east. He comes from the west, as many other very successful politicians, like Kurt Biedenkopf and Bernhard Vogel, who governed in Sachsen and Thüringen.

But Jörg Schönbohm was never truly respected, even by many members of his own party, the CDU, which he chairs in the state of Brandenburg. His past may very well be a provocation of sorts for many former citizens of the GDR. After leaving the Soviet-occupied part of Germany, Schönbohm stepped up the ladder as an officer of the Bundeswehr, rising to a four-star-general. Schönbohm believed he knew as much as there was to know about his compatriots in the east. He was the one who was responsible for the integration of the former Nationale Volksarmee into the Bundeswehr. The book he wrote about this process is regarded as one of the best documents of the unification process.

Some weeks ago, Schönbohm became somewhat of a symbol for all the misunderstandings between the two parts of Germany and a heavy burden for the CDU in the east. An unbelievable discovery shocked Germany in the middle of summer: a mother who had raised four children apparently had killed nine other of her newborn babies, whose remains were found in a small village near the Polish border. Schönbohm, deputy Ministerpräsident and responsible for the police in Brandenburg, commented in the established West-Berlin daily Tagesspiegel about possible reasons for the crime: he saw one explanation in the social development of the former communist society of the east. The expropriation of the farmers there and the forced changes in the social mixture have inflicted long lasting wounds. This was far too much for certain East Germans. And it was a signal for those who saw themselves confronted with questions about their own role in the former dictatorship for several years. It was also an unexpected gift for the PDS, the party of the former communists. Schönbohm had to apologize, Angela Merkel, the candidate for chancellor, distanced herself from him, and a nationwide debate about the arrogance of West Germans ensued.

Schönbohm admitted in a conversation with the author that he was not only totally surprised by the emotions, but he was astonished as to how much the atmosphere had changed during the last years. In dozens of very passionate conversations he became convinced that the nostalgic look back to communist times will be the dominant mindset of those who were victims of the worsening economic situation in East Germany. Combined with the persisting anti-western propaganda of those who once were part of the communist elite and still hold many influential jobs, especially in the media, Schönbohm now has to defend himself against continuous demands to resign.

Remarks made by the Bavarian Ministerpräsident Edmond Stoiber from the CSU, the sister party of the CDU, deepened the controversy. Stoiber, who lost the election three years ago because of his poor performance in the east, spoke about frustrated eastern voters who should not get another chance to determine the direction of German politics. But Stoiber's opinion caused less of an uproar because he has never been considered as somebody who had any understanding of the problems of the former GDR territory and its citizens.

The sudden eruptions against the CDU, the party that is clearly leading all polls in the west, are even more interesting as Angela Merkel grew up in the east and stayed there until the end of the GDR. If one watches her campaign performance in the east closely, it is quite easy to feel a certain familiarity between her and greater parts of the audience. She uses words like Ingenieurwesen (engineering sector) or Kaufhalle (a supermarket chain), words very familiar to easterners. She might not convince the majority, but most people respect her as somebody who not only speaks their language, but seems to be much more familiar with their background than most of the politicians from the west. Looking at her appearances in the east and predicting her victory shows the magnitude of the change that may occur. It might also explain the sharp controversy about Schönbohm's remarks. The CDU still has - because of Merkel and even with Schönbohm - a chance to win the elections in the east.

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Johann Legner, a German journalist, is currently the deputy chief editor of the Cottbus daily newspaper  "Lausitzer Rundschau," once the district daily of the SED - the ruling communist party in the GDR - and today owned by the Holtzbrinck-media-group. He was the spokesman of the Commissioner for the Stasi Files from 1996-2000. The office of the Commissioner (formerly also known as the Gauck Authority) is responsible for the hundreds of miles of Stasi (East German secret police) files.