Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's party was heartened Monday after faring better than expected in east German state elections
Published:
21 September 2004 y., Tuesday
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's party was heartened Monday after faring better than expected in east German state elections, but a strong showing by fringe parties on the right and left raised concerns about the depth of anger over his drive to trim the welfare state.
While Schroeder's Social Democrats lost votes Sunday in both Brandenburg and Saxony, party leaders insisted the tide had turned following six months of heavy defeats in other state and European votes.
The main reason was Brandenburg's popular governor Matthias Platzeck, who passionately defended planned cuts in jobless benefits on the campaign trail and managed to keep the Social Democrats ahead in the state.
"This is a good result. I think it's grounds for optimism," Schroeder said. "We have to keep working hard, and we will."
A month ago, polls had the state's Social Democrats trailing both the former East German communists and the conservative Christian Democrats.
While no far-right group gained a share of power, their success in capitalizing on discontent over the government's welfare cuts drew expressions of concern from mainstream parties, business figures and religious leaders.
Politicians from five other parties walked out of a TV panel discussion Sunday night when the far-right National Democratic Party leader in Saxony, Holger Apfel, launched into a tirade against the political establishment.
Šaltinis:
lasvegassun.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Peaceful revolution exported to Minsk?
more »
Negative reactions to the national census planned for the end of February.
more »
The Russian military said today that 2,728 Russian troops have been killed in the war in Chechnya.
more »
The fatal shooting of a Ukrainian man in the head by Polish police has strained Polish-Ukrainian relations
more »
At the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the demonstrators are having a more successful time of it
more »
Ex-vice president to work at Columbia, Fisk and Middle Tennessee State
more »
In one of his final executive acts, President Clinton on Saturday pardoned more than 100 Americans
more »
Tallinn officials on January 8 announced they were beginning discussions about constructing a large mosque in the capital, saying it will be Estonia's first and the largest in northern Europe.
more »
Moscow’s top investigator speaks out on the latest developments in the Wallenberg case
more »
The Cuban government undoubtedly has evidence against deputy Ivan Pilip and Jan Bubenik, who were detained in Cuba on Friday, and will release it at a suitable moment, Cuban charge d'affaires to Prague David Paulovich told journalists today.
more »