Posted on 08/17/2005 3:44:56 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
The conservative challenger to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder kicked off her campaign for next month's elections calling for more jobs and economic growth, even as polls showed the chancellor's party gaining in popularity.
Yet Schroeder's Social Democrats — whose popularity was up two points to 28 percent — remain well behind Angela Merkel's conservatives, who polled 42 percent, according to the survey by the TNS Emnid research for the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper.
Crowds shouting "Angie! Angie!" welcomed Merkel in Essen, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia where her Christian Democrats and their sister party, the Bavarian Christian Social Union ousted the Social Democrats in state balloting three months ago. The defeat caused Schroeder to call for new elections.
"Now the point is to get out of this misery, we need growth, economical growth is the way we need to grow as we are last in Europe. And that is not right," Merkel told the crowd. "That is not adequate for Germany - Germany can do more."
TNS Emnid interviewed 5,528 people from Aug. 2-8 for the poll, which had a margin of error of 2 percent.
Are the masses in Germany waking up?
Das ist gut!!
Gehen sie, Angie!!
A little more freedom for the average German is a good thing.
"[Merkel 42%, Schroeder 28%]"
Schroeder will now be cranking the dial up to 11 on the Bush bashing.
The nasty little socialist is getting ready to pull out his America bashing playbook.
Ausgezeichnet
"The conservative challenger to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder kicked off her campaign for next month's elections calling for more jobs and economic growth, even as polls showed the chancellor's party gaining in popularity.
Yet Schroeder's Social Democrats — whose popularity was up two points to 28 percent...."
Classic AP reportage.....makes you sound like they can't understand why she even bothered to launch her campaign....after all Shroeder's party is UP 2% in the polls to 28%!!!! You can feel the excitement. I wouldn't get too excited though.....a conservative in Germany is probably still about where Hillary is in the U.S. But, I guess any move rightward is still progress.
Not to mention the fact the 2% jump is within the margin of error.
If Stoiber will keep his mouth shut and stop insulting people who live in the former East Germany, Angela should win.
Are there any FReepers up on German politics -- and German psychology -- who can tell us what Merkel's chances really are?
It saved him once. Let's hope the Germans won't buy it again.
I'm guessing 2% has to be within that poll's margin of error.
"hope the Germans won't buy it again."
Exactly. And is there any reason why they wouldn't? I don't see it. Maybe someone else does.
If Schroeder wins the MSM will hail it as a victory for an opponent of the Iraq war. If he loses you won't hear a peep about it.
Looks like he's into a Sam Donaldson kind of thing.
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