Schroeder Calls for New Elections
By DAVID McHUGH
BERLIN -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called Friday for new elections, asking parliament to bring down his government to enable him to seek a new mandate in a vote expected in September.
"Without a new mandate... my political program cannot be carried forward," said Schroeder, who is trailing badly in the polls and has suffered a series of defeats in local elections.
Schroeder has asked lawmakers from his own Social Democrat Party to abstain in a confidence vote later Friday.
Schroeder called for the national elections May 22 after his party suffered a stinging defeat in North Rhine-Westphalia, where it had governed for nearly four decades.
He said he had lost the trust of some in his own party since the SPD lost an election in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein in February.
A chancellor, he said, "needs a constant and reliable basis for his policies," Schroeder said, vowing to seek a mandate "to continue what has been begun."
Angela Merkel, head of the conservative Christian Democrats, then took the podium to say her party "welcomes" the chance for new elections. If her party wins and can form a government she would become Germany's first female chancellor.
If Schroeder's deputies abstain from the confidence vote, his governing coalition with the Greens will fall short of a majority. Schroeder has said he'll be abstaining himself.
Despite grumbling from his back benchers, who are unhappy with the idea of having their four-year term cut short by a year, the move appears all but certain to succeed. With 304 seats held by the Social Democratic-Greens coalition in the 601-seat Bundestag, four or more abstentions would leave the government short of the 301 votes needed to express confidence.
German President Horst Koehler would then have 21 days to decide whether the government truly lacks the support to run the country. If he concurs, elections must be held with 60 days. Koehler is expected to take most or all of the 21 days to decide, in order to avoid having elections fall during the summer vacation season.
Schroeder has struggled against rising unemployment and economic stagnation, hindered by people in his own party who mistrusted limited pro-business measures he took to relieve the costs to companies from Germany's extensive system of social benefits and worker protections.
Dubbed "Agenda 2010," his reforms have not yet led to more growth, which was 1.7 percent last year after three years near zero. Nor have they dented unemployment, which is at 11.6 percent with some 4.7 million out of work, well above the 3.9 million he decried when he took office in 1998.
"If we do not significantly lower the unemployment rate, then we will not deserve to be re-elected," he said at the time. He managed to barely win re-election in 2002 _ but by opposing the unpopular U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, not by fixing unemployment. The words still dog him.
Legally, Schroeder must convince Koehler that his cabinet no longer has the support in parliament it needs to govern. The proposal has met with some skepticism, since the coalition retains a majority _ albeit a thin one.
Koehler's decision is crucial since the constitution does not permit parliament to dissolve itself.
If Koehler rules that the government is still able to rule, Schroeder could resign to force new elections.
Complicating matters, deputies and minor parties have vowed to challenge the confidence procedure in court.
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