Berlin
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder this week issued a surprising call for early parliamentary elections, after his Social Democratic Party was trounced in a state election. Voters in North Rhine–Westphalia, which for decades has been a Social Democratic stronghold, turned against the party, as voters protested deep benefits cuts and continued high unemployment. “With this bitter election result for my party,” Schröder said, “the political support for our reforms to continue has been called into question.” National elections will now be held this fall, a year ahead of schedule. If the conservative Christian Democrats win—they are ahead in polls—party leader Angela Merkel would become Germany’s first female chancellor.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The genetic secrets of South Korea's female free-diversUnder The Radar Unique physiology of 'real-life mermaid' haenyeo women could help treat chronic diseases
-
Democrats: How to rebuild a damaged brandFeature Trump's approval rating is sinking, but so is the Democratic brand
-
Unraveling autismFeature RFK Jr. has vowed to find the root cause of the 'autism epidemic' in months. Scientists have doubts.
