No Flags in Germany , r If last Sunday's elections in
Hesse and Bavaria had told heavily against the Christian Democrat Party, Dr. Adenauer would still have been free to press in the Bundestag for ratification of the Paris agreements, since Federal foreign policy is not formally dependent on the political complexion of the regional governments. On this occasion, however, the Land elections were widely regarded, and to a certain extent conducted, as a test of Dr. Adenaucr's European policy and of the momentous steps which have been taken in Germany's name. In each of the two Lander the Christian Democrats have advanced instead of receding, but the possibility of securing regional coalitions on the Bonn model is still a matter for delicate manoeuvre. In the context of the affairs, of Western Europe there are two ways of looking at this. It is true that the Western reply to Moscow—ratification before negotiation—might have seemed to gain force from a West German endorsement, of Dr. Adenauer's' policy comparable to his notable victory in the Bundestag elections last year. On the other hand this qualified result, is not inappropriate to the situation as we see it. German rearmament is not bringing out the flags.
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