Merkel rival fires up party faithful for election battle

HANOVER, Germany: German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s rival, Peer Steinbrueck, yesterday kicked off his bid to topple her in next year’s election in Europe’s top economy, pledging social equality and a clear pro-European policy.
In a speech lasting almost two hours and punctuated with frequent bursts of enthusiastic applause, Steinbrueck said: “Freedom, justice, solidarity. . . with a commitment to these values, I am running to be chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.” “It is time for a change,” thundered the 65-year-old former finance minister, rewarded with an almost 10-minute standing ovation from his Social Democratic Party (SPD) supporters in the northern city of Hanover.
With 93.45 percent of the vote, SPD delegates officially nominated Steinbrueck as their candidate for the unenviable task of unseating Merkel, often called the world’s most powerful woman, at federal elections expected in September.
Steinbrueck accused Merkel’s party, the conservative CDU, of having no election strategy apart from relying on her and said her political slogans were “stickers on empty bottles” with little substance behind them.
“Mrs Merkel said she is running the best and successful government since reunification (in 1990). I have rarely laughed so much,” said Steinbrueck to tumultuous applause.
He pledged to put an end to what he said was “an increasing trend toward parallel societies” in Germany, the haves and the have-nots.
While he was forced to acknowledge that Europe’s economic powerhouse currently had low unemployment rates, he stressed that many of those in work were not being paid fairly and pledged a legal minimum hourly wage of 8.50 euros ($10.98).