WEST GERMANY: Stalemate on the Rhine

West German workers poured out of their factories onto the streets in sudden wildcat strikes. In several cities, there were spontaneous demonstrations by young people in support of Chancellor Willy Brandt. "Ah, oh, eh,/ Willy is okay," they chanted. At other times, West Germans huddled round their televisions and radios with a rapt attention that customarily is reserved only for championship soccer matches.

What excited West Germans was their country's worst political crisis in more than two decades—one that threatened to bring down the 2½-year-old coalition government of Social Democratic Chancellor Willy...