Read my lips

Berlin

Thousands of Germans shipped their old T-shirts to Gerhard Schröder, accusing the chancellor of wanting the very shirts off their backs. Voters are furious that Schröder, who narrowly won re-election in September by pledging not to raise taxes, has announced tax increases and spending cuts to curb a runaway budget. The “last shirt for Schröder” campaign, now in its third week, is proving popular. Organizers claimed that more than 33,000 people had sent in shirts, although the government admitted to receiving a mere 9,000. Even more popular is “Gerhard’s Tax Song,” a comic rap that’s topping the charts, with lyrics that translate to, “I can raise your taxes, and you can’t fire me. That’s the awesome thing about democracy!”