Merkel overtakes Schroeder in German leader race
May 27, 2005 � By Philip Blenkinsop
Some 50 percent of Germans said they favored Merkel, against just 44 percent backing Schroeder, according to the poll by Electoral Research Group (ERG) for ZDF television on Friday.
Merkel, whose party is set to back her bid to become
A TNS Infratest poll for this weekend's Der Spiegel magazine indicated that Schroeder was still ahead, albeit at only 41 percent to Merkel's 37 percent.
However, its poll, carried out on Monday to Tuesday, was not as recent as the findings of ERG, who asked voters from Tuesday to Thursday.
Germans will vote for parties rather than leaders in the expected September election, but Schroeder has relied in the past on his personal popularity to pull his Social Democratic Party (SPD) through.
In 2002, he consistently led his conservative opponent Edmund Stoiber.
Schroeder said on Tuesday he favored a personality-driven campaign for the election he abruptly called after his party's crushing defeat in North Rhine Westphalia on Sunday.
It could help distract from
A further negative sign for the ruling SPD was ERG's finding that 60 percent of Germans want a different government.
The figure is similar to the 64 percent of voters who said they wanted change in September 1998, just before Schroeder's SPD ousted Helmut Kohl's conservatives.
The research institute, which surveyed 1,162 Germans, found that 45 percent of the electorate would vote conservative and just 30 percent for the SPD, similar to the results of other voter surveys this week.
The TNS Infratest poll of around 1,000 voters put the conservatives on 47 percent and the SPD on 29 percent
Schroeder's shock decision to call an election is a huge gamble.
The SPD's popularity has plunged as unemployment has surged to a post-war high and Schroeder's pro-market reforms have failed to stir the economy and angered many on the left who say they simply punish the poor.
Mihai Zodian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> a �crit :
Nu cred ca amanarea cu un an a aderarii ar fi o mare tragedie, 12 luni trec repede. Din nefericire, din articole nu e clar daca este vorba despre aplicarea clauzei de salvgardare sau blocarea ratificarii tratatului. Nu trebuie sa uitam nici faptul ca in Germania a inceput o campanie electorala neoficiala, din momentul in care guvernul a decis organizarea de alegeri anticipate.
Codruta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> a �crit:Edmund Stoiber, liderul Uniunii Crestin-Sociale (CSU) din Germania, face lobby pentru aminarea aderarii Romaniei si Bulgariei. El e convins ca cele doua tari vor exporta coruptia in UE. Edmund Stoiber, liderul Uniunii Crestin-Sociale(CSU), aliatul din landul Bavaria al crestin-democratilor germani, incearca sa-si impuna punctul de vedere pentru ca tratatele de aderare ale Romaniei si Bulgariei sa nu fie ratificate pentru moment in Bundestagul de la Berlin, informeaza in numarul de joi cotidianul �Handelsblatt�. Seful CSU crede ca aderarea celor doua tari la UE la 1 ianuarie 2007 nu poate fi finantata si, mai mult, se teme ca UE va importa prin aceasta extindere coruptie, in special din Romania. Potrivit cotidianului citat, planul lui Stoiber vizeaza aplicarea clauzei de salvgardare, inclusa in tratatele de aderare ale celor doua tari, conform careia integrarea poate fi aminata cu un an in cazul in care reformele din Romania si Bulgaria nu inregistreaza progresele dorite. �Handelsblatt� il citeaza totodata pe liderul grupului popular din Parlamentul European, Hans Gert P�ttering, care isi sustine colegii din Germania pentru viitoarele alegeri anticipate, afirmind ca un guvern conservator la Berlin ar controla cu mai multa rigoare procesul reformelor din Romania si Bulgaria decit actualul guvern de stinga. Concomitent, un alt membru al grupului popular, citat de �Handelsblatt�, afirma ca, daca tratatul constitutional va fi respins duminica in Franta, PPE considera ca trebuie sa se dezbata rapid un program pentru viitorul UE.
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