With a week to go before West Germany's general elections, Dr. Rainer Barzel, the Christian Democrat (CDU) leader who hopes to replace Willy Brandt as Chancellor, started an intensive last-minute campaign tour across the country on Sunday (November 12).

As a close count is forecast for the coming weekend's voting, Dr. Barzel is visiting many smaller towns in his busy itinerary, like Paderborn, where his political opponents include Dr. Augstein, owner and editor of the influential West German magazine 'Spiegel.'
The two basic election issues are the Brandt East European policy, where the Chancellor enjoys considerable support within the electorate, and inflation...a problem Dr. Barzel promises to cure if he is successful in unseating Herr Brandt's ruling Social Democrat (CSU) party.

SYNOPSIS: Paderborn is a small, quiet West German town which is rarely in the news. But on sunday it became the launching-point of a nation-wide election campaign by Doctor Rainer Barzel, the Christian Democrat's candidate who hopes this coming weekend to become West Germany's new Chancellor. Competing against Chancellor Willy Brandt of the Social Democrats in a general election which promises to be closely fought, Doctor Barzel is paying special attention to the smaller, out-of-town communities... where a few extras votes won, could make a big difference in Sunday's elections.

The two basic election issues are the existing Brandt Eastern European policy--which is popular with a wide section of the electorate--and West Germany's inflation problem, which Doctor Barzel says he can cope with if his Christian Democrats are voted to power.