GERMANY: The Social Democratic Party (SPD) has launched a new strategy to break Germany's coalition deadlock after Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said yesterday that he won't "stand in the way" of a new government.
He has insisted for two weeks that he would stay on as chancellor although his Social Democratic Party (SPD) ended the September 18th general election in second place. Yesterday Mr Schröder changed his tune, hours after after the Christian Democrats (CDU) won another seat in a delayed byelection in Dresden, giving the party 226 seats in the new parliament, a four-seat lead over the SPD.
"I don't want to stand in the way of the development of the reform process or a stable government in Germany," he said yesterday afternoon. "This is not about my claims or me personally. It's about my party's claim to leadership and only the leaders of the party can decide that. I will accept any decision."
Two hours later, SPD leader Franz Müntefering confused matters by telling journalists after an SPD executive meeting that Mr Schröder is still the choice of the party to lead the SPD into a new coalition government.
"As a party we have a claim to pursue social democratic politics in this country and to do this with Gerhard Schröder as chancellor. These are two things which are bound closely together," said Mr Müntefering, adding that all issues - including personnel matters - would be decided in coalition negotiations and not before.
He then struck a different tone, saying: "I have great respect for the way in which Gerhard Schröder has made clear that, together with the party, he wants what's best for the country."
At the same time, members of the SPD's conservative wing suggested that the only way to solve the personality problem is with a rotating chancellorship with CDU leader Angela Merkel.
"That means that Schröder would govern for two years and then Merkel two years," said Mr Johannes Kahrs, spokesman of the SPD's conservative wing. He said that many in the SPD would "consider it wrong" if Mr Schröder cleared the way for a CDU chancellor.
But CDU general secretary Volker Kauder rubbished the rotating chancellorship model.
"It is clear from Dresden that Angela Merkel has received a strengthened mandate to form a government and it is time that the SPD recognise this as a condition for talks," he added.