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German parliament vote puts early election on track

Posted on: Friday, 1 July 2005, 13:23 CDT

By Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroederengineered his own defeat in a parliamentary vote of confidenceon Friday in a bid to force elections he hopes will return himto power with a new mandate for reform.

Schroeder called for the vote after his Social DemocraticParty (SPD), facing criticism over record unemployment anddeeply unpopular economic reforms, suffered a string ofhumiliating defeats in regional polls.

However, critics who see Schroeder's confidence vote as apolitical trick said they would ask Germany's highest court toblock early elections, which opinion polls suggest the SPDwould lose to the Christian Democrats, led by Angela Merkel.

The 601-strong lower house voted 296-151 against thegovernment, with 148 abstentions, Bundestag President WolfgangThierse announced after a highly-charged two-hour debate,characterised by fierce partisan attacks.

Of the abstentions, 140 were members of Schroeder's SPDacting on party instructions, with the remaining eight fromtheir coalition partners, the Greens.

Schroeder, 61, had called on parliament in a speech watchedthroughout the country to open the way for new elections,saying his government needed a mandate to continue its economicreform drive. He said he lacked the necessary support inparliament and faced opposition even in his own party.

"If we are to continue with this agenda, a mandate throughnew elections is needed," a grim Schroeder said. "We needclarity. That is why I am putting the motion of confidence."

However, for the vote to take place as planned on Sept. 18constitutional hurdles need to be cleared.

President Horst Koehler, the only person with the power todissolve parliament, must first decide whether Schroeder'sunusual scheme to deliberately lose the confidence voteconforms with the constitution.

COMPLEX CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES

Schroeder went to the president's office after the vote onFriday to ask him in person to endorse his election plan.

Koehler said in a statement after the brief meeting that hereserved the right to use the full 21 days allowed him todecide. He said the Schroeder plan raised "complex"constitutional issues.

Koehler will be taking his decision in the knowledge thatan overwhelming majority of Germans, the country's main partiesand financial markets support early elections.

There is also a precedent. In 1982 former Chancellor HelmutKohl deliberately lost a confidence vote to bolster hisparliamentary majority -- a move upheld by the ConstitutionalCourt, albeit with reservations.

However, even if Koehler does say yes, the ConstitutionalCourt in Karlsruhe will have the final say because it must ruleon at least one legal complaint.

Calling the confidence vote an "absurdity," Greens partymember Werner Schulz announced he would file a suit if Koehlercleared the way for an early election.

Schroeder, chancellor for the past seven years, shocked thenation on May 22 when he announced plans to bring the federalelection forward by a full year, following defeat in the SPDheartland of North Rhine-Westphalia.

FAR BEHIND IN POLLS

Voter discontent stems from record high unemployment andgovernment pro-market reforms which critics say harm the"social market economy," with its generous welfare net, thathas been one of the pillars of German post-war democracy.

If the election goes ahead in Europe's biggest economy,Schroeder faces a daunting challenge, with opinion pollsputting his SPD 17-21 points behind Merkel's conservatives.

A veteran campaigner who staged a dramatic comeback to winre-election three years ago, he is hoping that when voters takea good look at Merkel, the gap will narrow.

A pastor's daughter from the former East Germany, Merkel isnot known for her charisma and made a series of gaffes in herspeech to parliament on Friday -- drawing mocking rejoindersfrom Schroeder allies.

"At the moment, with your opinion polls you strike me as amagnificent-looking souffle in the oven," Foreign MinisterJoschka Fischer said. "We'll see in the final three weeks, whenthe voters prick it, what's really left of this splendour."

Source: REUTERS

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