Limburg Worries About Inflation

Much of the sound and fury of West Germany's election campaign is concentrated in Bonn and the country's bigger cities. Yet it is in the smaller towns and countryside, where 60% of the nation's 60 million people live, that the election will be largely decided. Typical of that quiet majority are the citizens of Limburg on the Lahn, a town of 21,000 in the geographic heartland of West Germany, 40 miles from Frankfurt. Relatively rich, traditionally conservative, proud of its 1,000-year history, Limburg (not to be confused with the province in Holland that is the home of the Limburger cheese) accurately reflects the central theme of the campaign so far: an overriding concern about inflation that has cut deeply into Brandt's lead in personal popularity. Last week TIME'S chief European correspondent William Rademaekers visited Limburg to assay the voters' mood. His report:

A 13th century cathedral, perched on the hillside that in medieval times constituted the entire town, dominates the skyline of Limburg and, to a degree, the thinking of many of its citizens. Fully 70% of the population is Catholic, most of them regular churchgoers. City fathers chat amiably about the history of the cathedral. But they talk with more passion about the seven banks that have established branches in Limburg--all monuments to the new Germany.

In this election, the burning issue is not Ostpolitik but Stabilitaet. The big question is which party can best contribute to the continued stability of the German economy. The citizens of Limburg share the fear of inflation that is a national phobia throughout Germany.

Shoppers pick up soup meat for $ 1 per Ib. and examine jars of jam that cost $1.15. They drink their coffee watered-down--because it costs $2 per Ib.--and pass up steaks that run $3 to $4 per Ib. for an indifferent cut. Even the rich, dark German bread in Limburg goes for an average of 60-c- a loaf. I asked one supermarket customer how he would vote on Nov. 19. "I am not yet sure," he replied. "I won't tell you what party I belong to, but I will say that I'm not sure I trust Barzel. I trust Brandt, but I'm not sure about his party. If he's not careful, he could be leading us to another Weimar."

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The dark comparison between the current inflationary trend and the days of Germany's post-World War I Weimar Republic, when inflation helped bring Hitler to power, was echoed several times. Said Joseph Kohlmaier, mayor of Limburg: "People here are generally pleased with the foreign policy of Willy Brandt, but there is also the feeling that the success in foreign policy has come at the expense of domestic programs. The Christian Democrats, in the minds of most people, stand for no inflation, even if it means a certain dampening of the job market."

Apart from the headline issues, Limburg may be swayed by a deep feeling that much recent change has been for the worse. Its citizens feel ignored by Bonn and worry about their loss of community identity and the departure of their children to the big cities. "The youth won't have anything to do with the church," says Mayor Kohlmaier, "and this could mean a different electorate in a few years." For now, however, a number of Christian Democratic voters seem to be loyal to the party just because of the word Christian in its title.

If the citizens of Limburg vote the way they have in the past, they will give the Christian Democrats a small majority in November. "I see more of the same," Mayor Kohlmaier said. "Neither party will get a clear majority. There will have to be another coalition, and it will be tight again. And we may have to have another election soon. Like Weimar."

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