GERMANY: Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was booed and heckled like never before yesterday as he defended plans for drastic cutbacks in the welfare state to revive the German economy.
A desperate-looking Mr Schröder struggled to be heard above the jeers and whistles at a May Day rally near Frankfurt, even after the microphone volume was increased.
"Whoever believes it is enough to hang onto tradition doesn't realise the challenges," shouted Mr Schröder as 3,000 angry workers blowing whistles tried to drown him out. "I didn't know that whistles counted as part of the unions' arguments," snapped a testy Chancellor.
He has pledged to turn around the economy by cutting unemployment benefits and loosening hiring and firing laws, in what he has dubbed "Agenda 2010".
"I'm convinced that our agenda is the path we must take," said Mr Schröder. But he faces huge opposition from Germany's powerful unions.
Mr Michael Sommer, head of the German Union Federation (DGB), accused him of using the word "reform" to disguise the dismantling of the social welfare system, "just like Helmut Kohl".
The comparison was an intentional slap in the face for Mr Schröder, who prides himself on his working-class roots, and shows just how unpopular he has become.
"What we want is not the deconstruction of the social system, but rather a socially just reconstruction," said Mr Sommer, following on from Mr Schröder's speech in the town of Neu-Anspach, near Frankfurt. "But whoever wants to successfully modernise needs to know that it can only work on a basis of social justice."
Union members took to the streets around Germany yesterday to protest against the proposed reforms under the banner: "Yes to Reform, No to Social Cuts". Mr Schröder also faces internal opposition to the reforms and plans to face down his critics at a special SPD conference at the start of next month. He has a growing body of gloomy economic evidence to support his reforms, with employment heading towards five million and the economy certain to grow by less than 1 per cent for a second year.
A government spokesman admitted yesterday that Germany is likely for the second time this year to breach the budget deficit rules devised by Brussels to protect the euro.