Divided E. Germans Unite Against Currency Plan

EAST BERLIN — East Germany’s two main parties, haggling over the makeup of a coalition government two weeks after the country’s first free elections, united Sunday to attack a West German proposal for currency union.

Angrily distancing himself from his West German patrons, East Germany’s likely next prime minister, Lothar de Maiziere, told reporters he was not consulted about Bonn’s proposal. It would exchange the East’s ostmarks for Western deutschemarks at a 2-to-1 rate, apart from small personal savings.

De Maiziere, speaking after talks with the Social Democrats, said he sees no reason to go back on his election promise to have ostmarks swapped with deutschemarks at par.

His comments heralded a potential rift with West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who helped the Christian Democrats to victory in the March 18 election. The dispute could stall hopes to complete monetary union by July and slow the pace of full unification.

The Social Democrats, debating whether to join the Christian Democrats in East Germany’s first non-Communist government, said they support De Maiziere’s position on currency union. But talks remained bogged down on whether to include the Christian Democrats’ right-wing allies, the German Social Union.