Kohl Says the 2 Germanys Could Become One Power by End of Year : Reunification: He no longer rules out a joint election Dec. 2, the date for the vote in the West.

The two Germanys could become one political power by the end of the year, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl indicated Monday, saying that setting a date for common elections is “the next step” toward unification.

The signal that Kohl has no intention of slowing down the dizzying pace of unification came amid public and political pressure to apply the brakes.

Kohl and East German Prime Minister Lothar de Maiziere met for several hours in West Berlin for “intensive” talks covering various aspects of unification, Kohl told reporters afterwards.

Although an election date was not discussed with De Maiziere on Monday, Kohl said it would be the logical “next step.”

Earlier Monday, Kohl told a Bonn press conference that he no longer rules out a pan-German vote on Dec. 2, which is when West German national elections are now scheduled. Kohl, who is running for reelection against a strong Social Democratic candidate, previously has advocated a joint election for next year.

“For me the question of German unity is ripe for decision,” Kohl said at the press conference. “Everybody who understands anything about international developments advises me, ‘Act soon.’ ”

The two countries already have worked out the framework for a social, economic and currency union to take effect July 2. Officials finished their work on the draft treaty over the weekend. But troublesome sticking points emerged Monday after finance ministers from both sides met in East Berlin.

East German Finance Minister Walter Romberg and his Bonn counterpart, Theo Waigel, said they had been unable to agree on several key issues, including the cost of unification.

“There was an obvious lack of clarity, especially over the East German debt,” Romberg told a news conference.

Also unresolved are East German concerns over property ownership. Most property belonged to the now-defunct Communist regime, which appropriated it from private owners. Owners who ended up in West Germany are now questioning whether they can legally reclaim their old property in the East.

East Germany also fears that affluent Western individuals and companies will snap up property and firms unless some limits are placed on investment, such as long-term leases rather than purchase by non-East Germans.

West German experts argue that such investment is the best way to rebuild the crumbling East German economy, and that too many limitations would discourage any private financing of reunification.

Waigel dismissed East German requests for better pensions and unemployment benefits under the state treaty, which is expected to be formally approved later this week.

“There is no room for maneuvering to make last-minute changes,” Waigel told reporters as he entered the meeting.

“There is no additional money in the West German budget,” he said, declaring that Bonn “can only do” what it can afford.

Analysts have estimated that reunification will cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

West German concerns that salvaging the East German economy will spell higher taxes and steep inflation were evident in important state elections Sunday. Voting in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, which together comprise about 40% of the West German population, deprived Kohl of his one-vote majority in the Bundesrat, or upper house of Parliament.

The Bundesrat ratifies laws passed by the Bundestag, or lower house, affecting the 11 states. Since state governments will bear some of the cost of unification, legislation concerning the financial merger of the two countries must be ratified by the Bundesrat.

The opposition Social Democrats have said they favor slowing down unification; now that they hold the Bundesrat majority, they have the possibility of doing that by stalling or vetoing legislation on the matter.

Kohl’s center-right coalition advocates a quick plunge, arguing that events in East Germany, not political agendas, are dictating the pace.

“There is an extremely tight schedule,” Kohl said, adding that there is “much work” to do.

A Western diplomat, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Kohl is being pressured even within his own conservative Christian Democratic Union to slow down the reunification process.

“Not only the Social Democrats, but some within the CDU are concerned that the costs are not being thought through properly,” the diplomat said. “People obviously are still in favor of reunification; it’s just a question of the terms and concern about the costs.”

A Kohl aide said Monday night that “no one knows yet” what a joint election might involve if it is linked to the Dec. 2 vote in West Germany.

Whether East Germany would have the time and opportunity to add candidates to the Dec. 2 slate remains unclear, according to the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Kohl is fighting for reelection against Oskar Lafontaine, a popular Social Democrat who survived an assassination attempt by a deranged woman at a campaign rally last month.

Lafontaine favors a more gradual unification.

But East Germany’s 12 million voters gave their clear approval for swift unification during their first free elections March 18, when the Christian Democrats won a surprising majority and went on to form a grand coalition government.

Kohl campaigned vigorously for his sister party in the East and proved to be wildly popular at campaign rallies, where he overshadowed the unknown De Maiziere.