Schroeder’s gamble

[farmer]

"Schroeder Commits Political 'Hara-kiri', Early Election in Sept."<br>
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"Schröder seeks, wins his own downfall"<br>
San Jose Mercury News, CA - 2 Jul 2005 <br>
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"Schroeder’s gamble"<br>
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3 July 2005 <br>
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GERMANY’S Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder may have taken a huge — perhaps the biggest in his political career — by deliberately losing the trust vote in parliament and calling for fresh polls.<br>
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Rarely do you come across the unusual phenomenon of an elected leader calling on his parliament to dissolve his government saying it had lost the ability to implement its agenda. <br>
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Goes without saying of course that Schroeder, by recommending dissolution of parliament, is seeking fresh mandate to carry forward is party’s political programme and controversial economic reforms. However, the German leader’s confidence of garnering greater support and new impetus to his reforms programme may be misplaced.<br>
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Even if President Koehler accepts Schroeder’s recommendation to dissolve the Bundestag, it is doubtful if the Chancellor’s party Social Democrats will win the polls or get required majority. In fact, latest opinion polls suggest opposition Christian Democrats have a clear edge of 17 per cent over the governing Social Democrats. <br>
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No wonder the opposition headed by the charismatic and controversial Ms Angela Merkel is looking forward to early polls. A seasoned politician that he is, Schroeder may have put his very political career at risk by taking this huge and costly gamble."<br>
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