Can Schroder satisfy them?
The warning came in loud and clear. On June 13, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder watched in horror as his Social Democratic Party scored a dismal 30.7% in elections for the German delegation to the European Parliament, plummeting from 40.1% support in German national elections last September. Most galling, the conservative Christian Democrats chalked up 48.7% of the vote. Low turnout notwithstanding, it was a referendum on Schroder’s ability to fix the economy and create jobs. He lost. ”We got the message,” Schroder said on television that night. With the end of the war in Kosovo, Schroder’s heady weeks of playing the peacemaking statesman are over. The spotlight is back on domestic policy, and it is unforgiving. The telegenic 55-year-old Socialist was elected last fall on his promise to bring in a Neue Mitte, or New Center: a business-friendly socialism, you might call it, or capitalism with a heart. Instead, bullied by former party leader, Finance Minister, and 1970s throwback Os
