by Jerome a Paris
Tue Jul 12th, 2005 at 04:04:07 AM EST
Angela Merkel, the leader of the CDU widely expected to win the coming parliamentary elections in Germany in September, unveiled her election manifesto:
Germany's conservative opposition leader, Angela Merkel, yesterday announced plans to increase VAT from 16% to 18% if she wins the general election, expected in September.
Speaking in Berlin at the launch of "the most honest manifesto for a long time", Ms Merkel said the money raised would be used to cut unemployment benefit contributions paid by workers and employers. This would bring down unemployment, she predicted.
The leader of the Christian Democrat party (CDU) also pledged to improve relations with the US, oppose Turkey's membership of the EU and bring back nuclear power - which the ruling Social Democrat-Green government is now phasing out.
Both the Guardian (above) and the
Financial Times note the unenthusiastic commentary from the liberal FDP, the CDU's likely junior partner in a coalition:
"Let us be crystal clear," said Dirk Niebel, a senior FDP member of parliament, "a VAT increase without an overarching structural reform of the tax system would be a very poor start for a new government."
As the hard left, following the alliance of Oskar Lafontaine with the former Eastern communists of the PDS, is now credited with 11%, the electoral situation is actually very uncertain and there has been talk of a grand coalition between Merkel's CDU and Schroeder's SPD if the CDU fails to win an outright majority and the FDP cannot make it to Parliament.
This will be an election to watch, although I doubt that any easy conclusions can be drawn as to the future of Europe, of the European continental economic model and of relations with the UK and the USA. The energy debate, which I flagged in the post title, is likely to be lively as well...
To be continued...
