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.
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