German opposition launches election campaign

July 11, 2005

Germany's main opposition parties, the CDU and its sister party, the Bavarian CSU, presented their manifesto for the upcoming federal election in Berlin today. With this progam, titled Deutschlands Chancen nutzen (Using Germany's Opportunities), the CDU wants to return to power in the election, which will most likely take place on September 18th of this year.

The number one issue in this election will be employment. Germany is struggling with 4.7 million unemployed people and the CDU wants to reduce labor costs and make the hiring and firing of new employees easier. The party also intends to reduce income-taxes but plans to raise the value-added tax from 16% to 18%.

Party chair Angela Merkel, the CDU's candidate for chancellor, called their program the "most honest in a long time" while incumbent chancellor Gerhard Schröder said that Merkel would make "everything more expensive and nothing better".