GERMANY: Chancellor Gerhard Schröder launched a last-ditch effort for a third term yesterday, warning voters that only his Social Democrats (SPD) could economically renew Germany without polarising society.
In a 90-minute tour de force, Mr Schröder said the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) would create an "elbow society that is cold, divided and inhuman".
"We know better than the others that the real wealth of society doesn't come from profits or stock-market value, but from holding society together and the strength that brings. That is what makes Germany unique and that is what we have to preserve," Mr Schröder said.
He strongly criticised the CDU's election manifesto, saying it would "take an axe to Germany's social cohesion".
Plans to loosen hire-fire laws, weaken unions and abolish company co-determination committees would breed "inner discontent". He dismissed the CDU's new finance expert Paul Kirchof, who has suggested abolishing tax breaks and introducing a 25 per cent flat income tax, as a "man without real understanding of ordinary people's lives, who treats people like things".
Mr Schröder had only a few words in his lengthy speech for the new Left Party, former SPD left-wingers and the reformed communists, who have 8 per cent support in polls and pose the greatest threat to his re-election.
"Their election programme makes the illusory suggestion of building a virtual wall around our country with national politics to ease the challenges of globalisation," he said. "But a country like Germany, which is so dependent on exports and foreign markets, has to remain open for that reason."
Mr Schröder dismissed what he called an "unholy alliance" of business leaders, polling companies and opposition politicians, who believe the SPD will lose the election. "There are 18 days to the election. Nothing is decided yet. Even this election will be decided in the last days," he said.
A third of German voters say they do not know who to vote for on September 18th. But with the SPD still 13 points behind the CDU in polls, the chancellor's speech, greeted with a euphoric 10-minute standing ovation, had a tinge of farewell about it.
Bavarian leader Edmund Stoiber, who lost to Mr Schröder in 2002, said he was sure the chancellor's days were numbered.
"One has the impression that the chancellor is on a farewell tour and many people are coming to his well-attended election rallies to see him for the last time as chancellor," Mr Stoiber said.
"We experienced that ourselves in 1998 when we had fantastic campaign events with the then-chancellor Helmut Kohl, but it was the same thing."