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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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042489
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04248900.022
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1990-09-17
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WORLD, Page 40World NotesWEST GERMANYDown in The Dumps
Barely three months ago, the staid political weekly Die Zeit
commented that Helmut Kohl's control was so unchallenged that it
would be hard to imagine Bonn without him as Chancellor. How
quickly things change. Germany has a high standard of living and
low inflation, but the latest polls suggest that if elections were
held now, Kohl's Christian Democratic Union would be soundly
trounced.
Kohl tried to halt the popularity slide by reshuffling his
Cabinet last week, but the move only underscored his political
weakness. Among those ousted was disruptive Defense Minister Rupert
Scholz. Recent controversies concerning West German involvement in
Libya's suspected chemical-weapons plant, local political scandals
and resentment over unpopular tax and health-care reforms don't
fully explain the public disenchantment that first showed up
earlier this year in municipal elections. "I believe there is a
kind of gambler's attitude in parts of the electorate," says Otto
Lambsdorff, chairman of the centrist Free Democratic Party. "They
are saying that everything is so comfortable, they can try
something different." A related reason, however, may be growing
boredom with Kohl's stolid style.