Biggest E. German Political Groups Agree on Coalition : Europe: The conservative alliance and Social Democrats are expected to lead the move to reunification.

Ending days of uncertainty and indecision, the two largest two political groupings in East Germany’s fledgling democracy agreed in principle Wednesday to join in a broad coalition that would take the country into reunification with West Germany.

The agreement, between the Alliance for Germany and the Social Democrats, came on the eve of the opening session of East Germany’s first freely elected Parliament.

As talks on the shape of the coalition continued, it appeared likely that Lothar de Maiziere, the Christian Democratic leader, would be formally elected as prime minister. The Christian Democrats lead the Alliance for Germany.

This action would put Christian Democrats at the helm in both Germanys and likely smooth the way toward unity. West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl campaigned vigorously for the Alliance.

The agreement on a coalition and the probable election of De Maiziere as prime minister, coupled with today’s opening of the Parliament, are expected to ease a growing sense of public dismay that in many ways has made the first days of East German democracy more traumatic than the preceding decades of dictatorship.

An electorate that on March 18 voted with high expectations for swift unification with its rich western neighbor has looked on helplessly as scandal, controversy and confusion have cropped up one after another. Many people have worried that the darkening mood might poison the atmosphere while reunification is taking place.

Disputed West German claims to East German property, the uncertain future of millions of jobs in East Germany’s uncompetitive industries, the continued destructive presence of the once-powerful East German security police--all have spread uncertainty through the country while elected politicians have seemed unsure about how to form a government.

Only after days of doubt did the Social Democrats finally agree Tuesday to enter into talks with the Christian Democrats on forming a broad-based coalition. If the talks progress swiftly, political analysts believe, De Maiziere may complete his Cabinet by the end of next week, when officials of both Germanys are scheduled to take a long Easter weekend holiday.

The participation of the conservative, three-party Alliance for Germany, which also includes the Social Union and Democratic Awakening, would give the new government the support of more than three-fourths of the 400 members of Parliament. This majority is regarded as vital for approving the constitutional changes required for reunification and for ensuring broad political support for those changes.

Of the larger parties, only the Communists, who now call themselves Democratic Socialists, are not involved in the coalition talks.

The East German people, already unsettled by two weeks of political drift, were angered and upset late last week by reports that the West German Bundesbank had recommended a currency union that would call for exchanging East German marks for West German marks at a rate of 2 for 1. East Germans had expected an exchange rate of 1 for 1.

The fact that the East Germans have been forced to stand by while West Germans debated a question that will affect their wage levels and personal savings has added to the overall sense of frustration and resentment. Trade union leaders and political groups have called for nationwide protests today against the Bundesbank plan.

The extent of the reaction has led Chancellor Kohl to make it emphatically clear that the Bundesbank report is only a recommendation. On Wednesday, Hans Klein, a spokesman for the Kohl government, took pains to point out that no decision will be made until after the new East German government is consulted.

Rainer Eppelmann, the leader of East Germany’s small Social Union party, expressed concern about the deteriorating situation. He cautioned Tuesday that reunification must take place in such a way that “Germans in both parts of Germany can look each other in the eye.”

On Monday, East Germans were hit by another shock--the abrupt resignation of the second party leader in four weeks on charges of being involved with the old Communist security police, the so-called Stasi.

The departure of Ibrahim Boehme, leader of the Social Democrats, raised further questions about the credibility of all the newly elected members of Parliament.

“Who will be the next to resign?” an editorial asked in Tuesday’s issue of the Berliner Zeitung.

Wolfgang Schnur, leader of the small Democratic Awakening, was forced to resign a few days before the election after admitting that he had been a Stasi informer.

The West German magazine Stern says in the issue that will appear today that Schnur worked for the Stasi as recently as late last year, even after his election as the leader of Democratic Awakening, then an opposition party.

For both Boehme and Schnur, as for the country, it was more than just a resignation. Schnur is believed to have suffered a nervous breakdown, and party colleagues said that Boehme was hospitalized briefly last Friday after spending eight hours reviewing his files at Stasi headquarters in East Berlin.

Social Democratic Party sources denied a report in the leading West German daily, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, that Boehme had attempted suicide. Diplomats in East Berlin also dismissed the report as false.

Unlike Schnur, Boehme admitted no guilt. He apparently resigned because he was unable to clear himself completely of allegations that he had been a Stasi informer. The accusation, made by an anonymous former Stasi agent, appeared last week in the West German weekly Der Spiegel.

Boehme’s review of his file at Stasi headquarters turned up no incriminating evidence, but it found references to an additional file, which is missing.

The fact that one of the country’s most popular elected leaders has been brought down by anonymous, unproved accusations is one more reminder of the lingering destructive power of the security police in the emerging democracy.

That Boehme’s personal and professional standing could be effectively destroyed by such accusations has added to the general sense of disorientation.

Ironically, the Communists have been completely free of Stasi-related accusations.