Schroeder has lost the confidence of his own party and today he announced he was resigning as the SPD party leader. I misread the headline and cheered aloud when I thought he was quitting as chancellor.
No such fortune, but this may allow the SPD to become a stronger party again. Schroeder is in a rough position, his party (comparable to the left wing of our Democratic party) is both anti-American and supports unsustainable levels of welfare and workforce protection. Schroeder pandered to their anti-American beliefs, but has tried to reform Germany's social welfare state in order to make the country competitive in the hopes of lowering the unemployment rate. While I admire his realistic grasp of the problem, Schroeder has placed himself in an untenable position. His base despises the idea of such social reform, and Schroeder's anti-Americanism has irritated other segments who blame Schroeder for isolating Germany from other nations. At least he has Chirac to keep him company...
At any rate, I have long said the German people deserve better than Schroeder. Today, he no longer leads the SPD party. I look forward to the day when he no longer leads Germany and expect that to be in 2006 unless he steps down first.
By the way, do any of my readers know much about his replacement? This article captures all I know about Franz Muentefering