Documents / FOIA release
This is a compilation of Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) briefing notes to the Director of INR, mostly dated June 12, 1968, with some from June 6, 1968. The notes cover world events, including student riots in Paris, East German passport and visa rules for West Germans, a UN resolution on South West Africa, a change of Komsomol leadership, Sino-Nepalese relations, and the Colombian presidential resignation crisis. Unrest in Senegal and Somalia is also covered. None of the notes discuss UFOs.
“Headquarters”1 page
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE INR BRIEFING. NOTE CIT. TRG: Possible Agreement Between CDU/CDU and SPD On Electoral Reforms In Return for SPD Candidacy for Federal Presidency The Director, INR DATE: Reg Morning TIME: 6-7-68 COMMENTS CONTAINED IN INR BRIEFING NOTES ARE INITIAL AND TENTATIVE. SOURCE(S) CLASS./CONTROL(S) ## TDCS DB 315/01993 6-6-68 ## Secret/NFD/CD A right-wing CDU politician close to Kiesinger reports that in late May Brandt told CDU parliamentary chief Rainer Barzel that because of the results of the Baden-Wuertemberg state elections, the SPD might be persuaded to support a law calling for the establishment of 4-man election districts. Later Barzel discussed Brandt views with Kiesinger and Postal Minister Stueckeln and the three agreed that Brandt should be told that CDU/CSU would support an SPD candidate for Federal President if the SPD agreed to electoral reform. However, CDU/CSU is willing to support Transport Minister Leber but not, under any circumstances Justice Minister Heinemann because the CDU/CSU consider the latter a renegade. Source Comment: Kiesinger is willing to face his party on the Presidency issue ( over which there is strong feeling in the CDU against the SPD getting the position) because he is convinced that an election reform is essential. Field Comment: The CDU/CSU previously opposed a 4-man election district concept but may have since concluded that it would be the main beneficiary of such a system. Headquarters Comment: The SPD plan, according to Wehner, provides for the establishment of 124 instead of current 248 election districts. Four deputies would be electted from each distruct according to the D'Hondt method. It has been calculated that, under such a system, it would require 15% of the vote to gain a seat and thus eliminate splinter parties ( read NPD ) INR Comment: When the grand-coalition was formed in December 1966 the governing parties agreed on the need for electoral reform. Later the SPD back pedalled on the issue because nearly all of the more likely reform schemes were believed to threaten it with a loss of seats; The series of increasingly greater NPD election successes, culminating in the last state election (9.9. of the vote) have given greater urgency to the issue which has been a source of intra-coalition tensions and brought about recently the resignation of Interior Minister Luecke (CDU) who charged that the SPD had broken faith on the electoral reform issue and that the Chancellor had acquiesced in the SPD refusal to move on the issue. The SPD has long wanted a crack at the position of Federal President and the latest series of embarrassments to the Government over allegations that President Luebke had worked during the war for a firm involved in concentration camp construction had led to reports—probably reliable that the CDU/CSU was considering a plan for constitutionl amendment that would permit Luebke to be eased out even before his present term expires ( in 1969, we think) INR OFFICE BRIEFER HIS PRESENT TERM EXPIRES IN 1989 EXTENSION WPDEary 5474 Secret/NPO/CD (Classification) FORM DS-1118 6-66 NW 31097 DocId:33061196 Page 90
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 132 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.