Merkel rallies support for bid to rule Germany

BERLIN – German conservative leader Angela Merkel, wounded by her failure to get a clear majority in stalemated weekend elections, fought yesterday to keep alive party support for her ambition to be Germany’s first woman chancellor.

Even as Merkel prepared to ask her parliamentary party for fresh backing, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder took a fresh swipe at his opponent, reportedly offering to drop out of the race to rule Germany but only if Merkel did the same. “There has never been a chancellor who has sacrificed himself in order to clear the way to form a government.Schroeder would go down in the party’s history as one of the greats,” an unnamed leading member of Schroeder’s Social Democrat party told the top-selling Bild newspaper.That outcome would mean that neither Merkel nor Schroeder would be chancellor.The new leader could come from among the powerful conservative state premiers, including Bavarian leader Edmund Stoiber, or Christian Wulff, who leads the state of Lower Saxony, Bild said.The report reflects the confusion reigning in Germany after Sunday’s vote failed to produce a clear winner and left Merkel and Schroeder both claiming they had a mandate to form a new government.Christian Democrat sources said Merkel would start coalition talks tomorrow in separate meetings with the Social Democrats and the small, pro-business Free Democratic Party.Merkel has said she planned to speak to all mainstream parties about a coalition, except the Left Party, a mix of disgruntled Social Democrats and ex-communists.The Social Democrats also excluded talks with the Left Party and said they had invited the conservatives and the Free Democrats for negotiations.The political stalemate launched what is essentially a race to see which candidate can strike deals with coalition partners and build a stable alliance first.Merkel’s failure to secure a ruling majority in an election she had seemed certain to win just two weeks ago was seen by the press as leaving her vulnerable to attack from within her own Christian Democratic Union (CDU).In an indication of her weakened position, Merkel said she would ask the CDU to re-elect her as parliamentary group leader on Tuesday in a bid to shore up her authority.Merkel, a 51-year-old physicist from the former East Germany, was forced to remind Schroeder she had actually won the election by a wafer-thin three seats, albeit without a ruling majority.”That is a clear mandate to govern,” she said on Monday.”The election campaign is over, the voters have had their say and we are the strongest party in parliament.”Schroeder forced through the election 12 months early in an attempt to obtain a fresh mandate for his controversial economic reforms.The conservatives had held a 20-point lead at the start of the election campaign but the charismatic Schroeder succeeded in slashing their advantage to less than one percentage point on election day.The lack of a new government has added to the economic uncertainty in a country struggling with 11,4 per cent unemployment, a swelling public deficit and stagnant growth.European partners looked on with concern and urged the German parties to find a solution quickly.- Nampa-AFP”There has never been a chancellor who has sacrificed himself in order to clear the way to form a government.Schroeder would go down in the party’s history as one of the greats,” an unnamed leading member of Schroeder’s Social Democrat party told the top-selling Bild newspaper.That outcome would mean that neither Merkel nor Schroeder would be chancellor.The new leader could come from among the powerful conservative state premiers, including Bavarian leader Edmund Stoiber, or Christian Wulff, who leads the state of Lower Saxony, Bild said.The report reflects the confusion reigning in Germany after Sunday’s vote failed to produce a clear winner and left Merkel and Schroeder both claiming they had a mandate to form a new government.Christian Democrat sources said Merkel would start coalition talks tomorrow in separate meetings with the Social Democrats and the small, pro-business Free Democratic Party.Merkel has said she planned to speak to all mainstream parties about a coalition, except the Left Party, a mix of disgruntled Social Democrats and ex-communists.The Social Democrats also excluded talks with the Left Party and said they had invited the conservatives and the Free Democrats for negotiations.The political stalemate launched what is essentially a race to see which candidate can strike deals with coalition partners and build a stable alliance first.Merkel’s failure to secure a ruling majority in an election she had seemed certain to win just two weeks ago was seen by the press as leaving her vulnerable to attack from within her own Christian Democratic Union (CDU).In an indication of her weakened position, Merkel said she would ask the CDU to re-elect her as parliamentary group leader on Tuesday in a bid to shore up her authority.Merkel, a 51-year-old physicist from the former East Germany, was forced to remind Schroeder she had actually won the election by a wafer-thin three seats, albeit without a ruling majority.”That is a clear mandate to govern,” she said on Monday.”The election campaign is over, the voters have had their say and we are the strongest party in parliament.”Schroeder forced through the election 12 months early in an attempt to obtain a fresh mandate for his controversial economic reforms.The conservatives had held a 20-point lead at the start of the election campaign but the charismatic Schroeder succeeded in slashing their advantage to less than one percentage point on election day.The lack of a new government has added to the economic uncertainty in a country struggling with 11,4 per cent unemployment, a swelling public deficit and stagnant growth.European partners looked on with concern and urged the German parties to find a solution quickly.- Nampa-AFP