Germany - Leadership

As premier of Lower Saxony, Schröder achieved national prominence. But it has been his popularity with the general public, rather than his status within his party, that established him as a national leader. Observers have said that Schröder presented a new face to Germans, a modern alternative to a new generation, tired of 16 years of conservative rule. Critics have charged that the media-savvy, telegenic Schröder ran a "substance free" campaign in defeating Helmut Kohl, attempting to capture the mood of the electorate and avoiding any serious discussion of political goals and policies. Many within the SPD do not consider Schröder to be interested in a traditional leftist agenda. Rather, they view him as someone who is primarily interested in attaining—and retaining—power. His reelection campaign appeared doomed until he took a strong and public stand against the U.S.-led efforts aimed at using force to oust Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.

Schröder has advocated a moderate reformist agenda. He seeks practical solutions rather than ideological ones. Adopting the slogan "We won't change everything—we'll just do things better," he modeled himself after Tony Blair of the United Kingdom and Bill Clinton of the United States.

Part of Schröder's effectiveness as a national leader arises from not being confined by the sentiments and policies of his party. He has built his national reputation by distancing himself from the party and by his willingness to cross party lines, which has not endeared him to the SPD leaders.

Following the 1998 elections, the SPD failed to gain a majority and entered into a coalition government, as is the usual case in German politics. Schröder's SPD entered into a historic "Red-Green coalition."

Following the 2002 elections, the coalition's majority had eroded to a slim majority of just five seats (the SPD won just 251 seats, and the Greens won 55, for a total of 306). Sharing power may provide another challenge to Schröder's leadership abilities. The radical wing of the Green Party has been most vocal in advocating policies, such as opposing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expansion, instituting steep "ecology taxes," and closing all of Germany's 20 nuclear power stations. These issues may strain the coalition partnership.

In the election of September 2002, Schröder faced stiff competition from conservative candidate Edmund Stoiber; following his narrow defeat, Stoiber predicted that Schröder's government would be "very, very short-lived." In the outgoing Bundestag, they had a majority of 21, and could usually count on at least the abstention of the 36 excommunist PDS; but following the 2002 elections, the PDS held just two directly elected seats.