The Hindu : International : Schroeder advances elections by a year

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Tuesday, May 24, 2005

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International

Schroeder advances elections by a year

Luke Harding

Decision follows crushing poll reverse in the most populous State

BERLIN: Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder announced on Sunday night that he was bringing forward the country's general election by a year following a crushing election defeat in the key industrial State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In a stunning announcement that took political observers by surprise, Mr Schroeder said he would go to the polls in the autumn.

A general election was not due to be held in Germany until the second half of next year.

The move came after a disastrous night for his Social Democrat Party (SPD) which lost power in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous State, after 39 years.

The conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) seized control of the State, winning 44.8 per cent of the vote, according to exit polls. The Social Democrats won just 37.3 per cent. The SPD's coalition partners, the Greens, got 6.1 per cent, while the Opposition Liberals got 6.4 per cent, exit polls suggested. Others got 5 per cent.

Devastating blow

The result was even worse than the defeat which had been widely forecast.

It was a devastating blow to Mr Schroeder, whose chances of winning a third term as Chancellor appear bleak.

While it is too early to write him off entirely, Germany appears to be heading for another period of Centre-Right Government, and its first-ever woman Chancellor — the CDU leader, Angela Merkel.

The announcement of an early election means that Ms Merkel is almost certain to be the conservatives' candidate as Chancellor challenging Mr Schroeder in the autumn.

Ms Merkel on Sunday described the North Rhine-Westphalia result as ``sensational'', adding: ``Voters want to support polices that reduce unemployment and create growth.''

``We have lost the election,'' Edgar Moron, a spokesman for the SPD in the State, admitted. He added: ``We didn't get much help from [the Federal Government in] Berlin. In fact, they created several problems for us. The desire for a change was too strong.''

Before the electoral disaster, Mr Schroeder was facing growing pressure to dump some of his controversial reforms.

Instead of changing course, he appears to be trying to regain the initiative by going to the polls.

North Rhine-Westphalia, known as NRW, is west Germany's industrial heartland, once dominated by coal and steel. Traditionally, the State has always voted for the SPD.

But this time the election was dominated by one topic in particular — Germany's stubbornly high unemployment rate.

The jobless total topped five million nationwide this year. In NRW, it has surpassed one million. —

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