Bad Marks for Schröder After About-Face on Taxes

Public support for German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has dropped sharply, according to two opinion polls published over the weekend. The reason: Schröder’s about-face on taxes.

A survey by the Emnid polling institute found support for Schröder’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) was down by more than three points to 35 percent. Support for the conservative Christian Democrats, meanwhile, climbed nearly five points to 43 percent.

“Never before has the government made such a stumbled start,” Klaus-Peter Schöppner, managing director of Emnid, told the Reuters news agency. “Most voters feel they’re being hit by more rules, more taxes for companies and less cash for consumers.”

A second survey by Infratest-Dimap found that 84 percent of Germans don’t believe government claims that the current economic problems were not obvious before the election.

"Voters are deeply disappointed"

“It’s the steepest plunge in support for a new government since the war,” Dietmar Herz, political science professor at Erfurt University, told Reuters. “Voters are deeply disappointed.”

In a speech before members of his party in North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday, Schröder said there was no way to avoid the “bitter truth” about the weak economy.

“We have a difficult route in front of us,” he told fellow party members. “We can’t settle for the status quo now because it will lead to more problems down the road and ultimately to the collapse of our social welfare system.”

Higher taxes on everything from energy to flowers

Schröder has introduced a range of new levies everything from energy to flowers, and also wants to raise insurance payments for unemployment, health and pensions. This has drawn criticism from business leaders, opposition politicians and even from some within his own party.

“I voted for Schröder but I’m really angry at him now for breaking promises,” actress Inge Meysel told Reuters.

Meanwhile, Germany’s budget deficit is approaching the European Union’s limit of three percent of gross domestic product, leaving Schröder desparate to find ways to control welfare costs and raise revenues.

“There is no alternative to making adjustments now to the new economic conditions,” Schröder said on Saturday.