Germany introduced sweeping welfare reforms and a long-delayed road tolling system yesterday as key elements of a Government effort to reignite Europe's largest economy.
Labour offices cut payments for a million jobless and qualifying tests got tougher in the most far-reaching welfare reforms in a generation. Threatened mass protests failed to materialise on the first day of the new, lower payments.
On the roads, the traffic chaos forecast by the haulage industry was also notably absent. Germany hopes to raise €2.4 billion per year by charging trucks to use its highways, Europe's busiest, and has promised to plough the money back into transport infrastructure.
Some 300 protesters tried to enter the main jobs centre in central Berlin but police blocked their path. "The turnout is a bit disappointing, but when people start realising the impact of this then they'll come out," protester Mr Detlef Stuye (50) said.
The social welfare reforms are intended to help halve unemployment by 2010, but in the short term they are expected to boost the jobless to close to five million. In November, 4.64 million Germans were out of work, roughly 10.8 per cent of the workforce.
Demonstrators had threatened to storm labour offices in 55 cities. Many job centres hired security guards to protect staff and police have trained employees on handling angry recipients. But officials said there were no signs of problems yesterday morning.
German Chancellor Mr Gerhard Schröder, who made the reforms the cornerstone of his policies, has said he won't scale back the measures, a stance that initially sent his popularity into a tailspin over fears he was destroying the welfare state.
But Mr Schröder has seen his standing surge because of his refusal to bow to pressure from the left wing of his Social Democrat party and complaints from those who stand to lose state support if they refuse jobs.
