‘Every Idea Needed,’ East German Leader Says : East Bloc: Egon Krenz seems ready for a major policy reversal, but he skirts the question of legal opposition groups.

The new East German leader, Egon Krenz, indicated Wednesday that he would be prepared to discuss the sensitive subject of economic and political reforms with opposition groups.

That would be a major reversal of policy by the Communist regime, which has refused to recognize the legal existence of such burgeoning opposition movements as New Forum.

But speaking Wednesday to reporters in an impromptu--and unprecedented--news conference in East Berlin, Krenz said, “Every idea is needed, and no one is excluded from an exchange of ideas--if they stand by the East German constitution.”

East Germany’s constitution is a loosely worded document under which almost any dissenter can be imprisoned for anti-state activities.

Asked whether he would speak to New Forum, which claims 26,000 followers, Krenz said: “I include all citizens of the German Democratic Republic, all citizens. No one is excluded.”

Krenz seemed to skirt the question of whether opposition groups or parties would be allowed to operate in the country.

“Let’s get rid of this idea of opposition,” said Krenz. “Let’s say that there are in the German Democratic Republic citizens who have ideas about how we can go forward in this country.”

Krenz’s remarks came after a meeting with Wolfgang Mischnik, a leading member of West Germany’s Free Democratic Party, an encounter suggesting that Krenz is moving to repair relations with West Germany. Relations between the two Germanys deteriorated under the ousted 77-year-old Erich Honecker, who opposed all reforms of the kind introduced in the Soviet Union, Poland and Hungary.

Krenz’s remarks to the press were significant not only for the substance but also for the fact that a Communist leader held a 30-minute unscheduled news conference after a meeting.

Any such off-the-cuff exchange with journalists would not have occurred under the rule of the aloof, doctrinaire and taciturn Honecker.

Krenz, 52, marking his first week in office, stood in a government reception room, parrying sensitive questions in a confident manner.

He was asked about the votes cast against him Tuesday when Parliament formally appointed him to the top post. Of 500 members, 26 voted against him for chief of state, and 26 abstained. That vote was followed by street demonstrations in East Berlin in which people shouted: “The people didn’t elect you, Herr Krenz!”

Krenz said: “I am very happy about these votes against me because it will force me to do more to win these people over. We must get used to the idea that unity about the goal does not always mean unity in votes.”

As to the future, Krenz declared: “We are confident that we know what we are doing. Our country is a socialist country and will remain one. There can be no doubt about that. Our country is sovereign. The decisions to be made will be made here.”

As for West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s offer to talk to him, the East German leader said: “I am ready for everything, but you must understand that I will devote myself strongly to domestic policies initially.”

Asked whether he intends to permit free elections, Krenz replied, “I do not have the impression that we have unfree elections.”

Krenz headed the commission that certified last May’s local elections, which were widely regarded as rigged.

Asked whether the regime’s promise to issue passports and to allow more freedom to travel meant that the Berlin Wall would be taken down, Krenz answered:

“Let’s deal with things objectively. I think the wall had a quite different purpose from what you are now suggesting. The important thing is that our citizens will receive passports and visas on a legal basis.”

Meanwhile, East Germany’s Communist leaders scheduled a party Central Committee meeting for Nov. 8-10, a meeting that will be closely watched for signs of the course the Krenz regime will take.

Expressions of dissent continued in East Germany on Wednesday.

Kurt Masur, chief conductor of Leipzig’s Gewandhaus orchestra, told a local newspaper: “Neither the Communist Party nor the state leadership commands the trust of the people anymore. I am not speaking for everyone but, I believe, for the great majority of the people.”

The Senate of East Berlin’s well-known Humboldt University called for more self-expression for individuals and a political system less dominated by the Communist Party.

And Wilfried Werz, a set designer with East Berlin’s State Opera, declared: “I love my homeland and I will never freely leave it, but it is a state in urgent need of change. The Communist Party cannot be the only one to claim the right to say what reforms are.”