After the party finance scandals that hit his predecessor Kohl and the opposition CDU, Gerhard Schröder's SPD-Greens coalition has recovered from its disastrous first year. Thus the Social Democrats have recently defended their positions in the regional elections in Schleswig-Holstein and Northrhine-Westfalia. But Schröder has even used the opportunity offered by the opposition's crisis to finally put his government on the right tracks in reform policy: together with his finance minister Hans Eichel he has presented a project for fiscal reform that should prepare the German economy for growing competition in the globalization era. In the meantime the Christian Democrats have been concentrating on getting clear of the scandals. In April the CDU, once a party of catholic patriarchs, has elected its new leader giving a unequivocal signal of renewal: Angela Merkel is a woman, she is protestant and she comes from Eastern Germany, the former DDR. Her fresh style is much appreciated and in recent opinion polls her popularity results even above Schröder's, but the Christian Democrat party is still in trouble. The chancellor is warned, but he does not seem to worry yet, although his Green partners are facing a serious identity crisis. Fortunately, after the electoral resurrection of the Liberal FDP his Social Democrats have now a whole number of new coalition options.
A lucky chancellor
It has been said that he lacks decision, courage and coordination, but no one can deny that Gerhard Schröder is at least a lucky chancellor. Last autumn, after a series of downfalls in regional elections, his government was already at risk. Only twelve months after his triumphant electoral victory that kicked out of office his long-serving predecessor Helmut Kohl, very few observers would have bet a single euro on Schröder's government lasting for the entire term. But then a huge scandal over Kohl's slush party funds hit the opposition CDU and by the end of 1999 Schröder was on top again.
Since then Schröder has done his best to make it last, by finally pressing for reforms in order to accelerate the modernization of the German economy and welfare state. As a result of these efforts the Social Democrats have done well in the regional elections this year and this has certainly strengthened even their national government. But Schröder can also consider himself lucky because after years of stagnation a new business-oriented mentality starts producing some statistical results: in the first quarter of 2000 the German economy grew by 3,3%.
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