Visit of the Soviet Secretary General

In the Federal elections of November 1972 Willy Brandt leads the SPD to its best election performance of its over 100-year history: 45.8 percent of the ballots cast. Willy Brandt is confirmed in office as Federal Chancellor. The social-liberal coalition can continue its work. FDP Chairman Walter Scheel continues as Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor.

Willy Brandt announces in his government declaration that the policy of domestic reforms will continue. The East and German policies shall contribute to détente in Europe and shall ease the lives of persons in the divided Germany. The Federal Republic of Germany will play a more active role in the international community and will increase its commitment to developmental policies.

In September 1973 the two German states - without prejudice to their special relationships - are admitted to the United Nations. Willy Brandt addresses the UN General Assembly in New York. He calls upon all states to renounce force, to be more involved over the North-South dialogue, and to make long-term commitments to support developing countries. The first visit to the Federal Republic of a Soviet Chief of State and Party in May 1973 is a reflection of better relations with the East.

Visit of the Soviet Secretary General, Leonid Brezhnev, in Bonn in May, 1973 ©Bundesbildstelle

The last in a series of treaties with the East is the German-Czech treaty signed in Prague in 1973. The Federal Republic of Germany and Czechoslovakia thereby proclaim that the Munich Agreement of 1938 is null and void "in view of existing mutual relations". Both states commit themselves to renounce force and to develop good neighborly relations.

In domestic affairs the social-liberal coalition under Chancellor Brandt also demonstrates impressive achievements. Many of the "cracks of the social state" are repaired. The rent reform law guarantees a minimum rent; rental insurance is opened for housewives and single persons; and a "flexible age limit" is established for retirement. The accomplishments of the statutory health insurance scheme are improved. The new enterprise law enhances the scope of co-determination by workers' representatives. The criminal, marriage, and family laws are reformed. Important laws are enacted to protect the environment and the Federal Environmental Bureau is established in Berlin.

Willy Brandt succeeds in this period to create a climate in the Federal Republic that motivates many citizens to participate actively in politics. In the "Brandt era" a new political culture develops with the goals of a more transparent political decision making process and greater incentives for citizens to participate in the reformation of their own conditions. Critics fear the dissolution of traditional values in society and point to the danger that the comprehensive social achievements cannot be financed in the long run.

There are difficulties in making the need and significance of the reforms clear to the population. Willy Brandt concedes that he is only barely able to relate the domestic achievements of the Federal Government to the people. In addition, the coalition with the FDP requires compromises that lead the majority of the Union-ruled Länder in the Bundesrat (upper house of the Federal Parliament) to defeat some legislative proposals and to force the government to curtail expenditures in the area of social insurance during the 1974 economic crisis. The limits of what can be financed in the social state become evident.