World Notes THE GERMANYS

As the two Germanys hurtle toward unification, politicians worry about how soon it should happen and who will be the leader of the new nation. Last week Chancellor Helmut Kohl urged even speedier progress, hoping to give his Christian Democratic Party -- and Kohl -- an edge. His allies proposed advancing the date for all-German elections to Dec. 2, 1990.

West Germans realize that unity could cost up to $100 billion, and East Germans are apprehensive about massive unemployment. Kohl wants the election to take place before Germans sour on the idea -- or him. "Act soon," Kohl said his advisers told him. Added Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher: "History does not repeat its offers."