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Stoiber vows to back U.S. on Iraq
ESSEN, Germany -- Conservative challenger Edmund Stoiber has vowed to end Germany's opposition to involvement in any U.S. attack on Iraq if he wins Sunday's election. He told Reuters that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had made a "grave mistake" in his decision to oppose a strike on Iraq even if it was backed by a U.N. Security Council resolution. "We Europeans must co-ordinate our interests and bring them to bear with the United States ... No chancellor can distance himself from a unanimous decision of the Security Council," he said on board his campaign bus. Stoiber, speaking as opinion polls showed Schroeder running ahead of his rival for the September 22 election, told Reuters one of his first jobs if he won would be to repair harm done to Germany's name abroad by Schroeder's "isolationism" on Iraq. "I have a very important task, to do repair work among our friends, especially with the French, but also the Americans." Stoiber said Schroeder had not consulted Germany's main European ally France or the United States -- for decades its ally in the Cold War -- over his decision to oppose an Iraq strike. He had driven Germany into isolation and upset a doctrine maintained by every German head of government since the conservative post-war chancellor Konrad Adenauer, Stoiber said. "Schroeder has made the gravest mistake a chancellor can make. He has gambled with continuity in foreign policy for the sake of a short-term boost in sentiment." Stoiber attacked Schroeder, who is fighting to avoid becoming the first post-war chancellor to be voted out after one term, for advocating a "German way." His comments come as U.S. President George W. Bush sought Congressional approval for military action against Saddam Hussein if his diplomatic drive to get allies on board failed. (Full story) Schroeder has been the most outspoken among the U.S. administration's European partners in opposing military action against Iraq -- a stance that has seen his popularity surge among an electorate opposed to U.S. calls for a military strike. The chancellor told the German parliament last Friday: "It is still clear that under my leadership, Germany will not participate in military action (in Iraq)."(Full story)
Schroeder's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer also recently told Germany's ZDF television: "In no case should we escalate ... There's still a big danger of war, and that is a point where we really have a differing opinion." (Full story) The Iraq debate, combined with Schroeder's strong handling of last month's floods and his greater personal popularity, have distracted voter attention from the sluggish economy, widely seen as his Achilles heel and Stoiber's strength. CNN's European Political Editor, Robin Oakley, said: "The German economy is one of the major battle grounds. "Growth has been 2.6 percent this year and 2.5 percent for the previous seven years. "Stoiber has been able to make early progress by reminding voters of Schroeder's pledge last time round to cut unemployment from 4 million to 3.5 million, which he has failed to do." One week ago, Schroeder took the lead in opinion polls for the first time this year, boosting his hopes of re-election in the weekend's poll. In August, Schroeder's SPD was seven points adrift of the opposition Christian Democrats. But the latest polls put the SPD two to three percentage points ahead of the Christian Democrats and give Schroeder's ruling coalition with the Greens a majority for the first time this year. (Full story)
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