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...policy and a willingness for the first time since 1945 to deploy German combat troops abroad. Schröder, 61, may yet find a way to hang onto some power - last week, he continued to discuss his prospects with his party and with the Christian Democrat leadership under Angela Merkel - but he looks unlikely to dominate German politics again. Other contemporaries within the government are considering their futures. "The torch is being passed," Michael Naumann, a former Cabinet Minister under Schröder and a '68er himself, told Time. "But to whom?" Germany's younger leaders are distancing themselves...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Goodbye To All That | 10/9/2005 | See Source »

...labor and welfare reform met with widespread criticism. This past May, Schrder declared himself incapable of governing and requested an early election. Soon the summer months morphed into a hasty electoral campaign, pitting the self-abashing chancellorthough he remained the same photogenic, forceful orator he has always beenagainst newcomer Merkel...

Author: By Alexander Bevilacqua, | Title: Quo Vadis, Germania? | 10/4/2005 | See Source »

...incumbent was so unpopular, why did Merkel so obviously fail to garner more enthusiasm? She had a few cards in her favor: Germany has never had a female chancellor, nor one from East Germany, and her credibility as an economic liberalizer is enhanced because she is a former inhabitant of Soviet-controlled East Germany. Her program promised a strengthened transatlantic alliance to end the excessive anti-American zeal of the Schrder era. Above all, it aimed to relaunch the German economy through liberalization, easily the most discussed issue in the pre-electoral debate...

Author: By Alexander Bevilacqua, | Title: Quo Vadis, Germania? | 10/4/2005 | See Source »

Maybe fear of Merkels too stringent reforms prompted her rejection at the voting booth. She proposed to raise the value-added tax in 2006, and, more saliently, chose as her prospective finance minister a Heidelberg professor associated with the flat tax, a fixed-rate income tax. According to some commentators, this may have been the innovation which sank Merkels boat. On the other hand, it was apparent throughout the campaign that the changes Merkel represented were of style rather than substance. Even within the CDU, her proposals generated controversy, casting uncertainty on future labor reforms. Further, her liberalism was circumscribed...

Author: By Alexander Bevilacqua, | Title: Quo Vadis, Germania? | 10/4/2005 | See Source »

...with the SPD. The mostly likely outcome, nonetheless, is a grand coalition of CDU and SPD. Such a venture has not been seen since the 1970s, and is attractive to no one. A grand coalition will face difficulties that are already obvious, when consensus is lacking even on whether Merkel or Schrder would be chancellor. All in all, Germanys present direction is uncertain at best, and when this muddle is over, it will be close to impossible for any party to address the political and economic issues. Given the countrys stature within the vast economic and political space of Europe...

Author: By Alexander Bevilacqua, | Title: Quo Vadis, Germania? | 10/4/2005 | See Source »

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