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Schroeder to Step Down as Head of Social Democratic Party
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Friday he would step aside as chairman of his Social Democratic Party, a move he hopes will counter stubbornly low poll ratings and end squabbling over the governmentâs reform plans. Schroeder will remain as chancellor, but said he planned to hand over the party chairmanship in March to Franz Muentefering, the leader of the Social Democratsâ group in parliament. "I will concentrate on my work as chancellor and head of government," Schroeder told a news conference. Muentefering, a close aide seen as being closer to the partyâs core voters, will take on responsibility for selling the governmentâs reform policy to the unsettled Social Democrats. As part of the changes, the partyâs general secretary, Olaf Scholz, will step down, Muentefering said. Scholz was only narrowly re-elected to the post by a party conference in November. Schroeder last year pushed through a package of reforms meant to revive the stagnant German economy, trimming welfare benefits and speeding up tax cuts -- and struggling to overcome resistance from left-wingers in his own party and Germanyâs powerful unions. The partyâs poll ratings have slumped since Schroeder narrowly won a second term in office September 2002, in a camapign with anti-American rhetoric and it suffered several setbacks in state elections last year. Schroeder has combined the roles of chancellor and party chairman since early 1999, reluctantly taking over the party post when a power struggle with leftist Oskar Lafontaine ended with Lafontaineâs surprise resignation as both party chairman and finance minister. Fridayâs decision "is in the interest of the process of renewal in Germany," Schroeder said.
Posted by: rkb 2004-02-06 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=25710 |