German Politicians Adopt American Campaign Tactics

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder faced jibes again earlier this month about his American style campaigning after he sought and won an injunction against a wire service that had reported that he dyes his hair.

A senior advisor to chancellor candidate Edmund Stoiber (right) - who is running as the joint candidate of the Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union - cited the incident as proof that Chancellor Schröder is "losing his political instinct."

First-ever TV debates

Beyond the rhetoric, there are other signs of a new era in German electioneering. For the first time, the two candidates will debate each other on television on August 25 and again on September 8. And campaign observers predict that this year's contest will ultimately come down to personalities rather than concrete policies.

The team at the SPD election campaign headquarters is under increasing pressure. Though Schröder's advisors have recreated much of their successful 1998 campaign structure, they have largely failed to capture public support.

Opinion polls show Schröder's party lagging behind his conservative challenger. The most recent poll conducted by the Institute of Public Opinion Research Allensbach showed the SPD taking 33.2 percent of the vote, with the Union bloc securing 38.2 percent.

Working to turn the tide

With elections scheduled for September 22, the Social Democrats are hard at work to turn the tide. Their strategy is to use snappy slogans to counter Stoiber's statements and highlight weaknesses in his political platform.

"We're happy that the CDU has presented its party manifesto," says Gunther Schwedhelm, a spokesman for incumbent Schröder’s campaign. "Now we can say, ‘Here's our alternative to what they are proposing.’"

"Before, we could only address Stoiber the person, and he wasn't really making any concrete statements," Schwedhelm says. "Now that the manifesto is on the table, we can point to specific proposals and say the country simply can't afford to pay for that."

The Internet campaign

The SPD is relying heavily on the Internet and information technology to make the campaign more mobile and able to respond quickly to trends or crises.

Party officials receive instantaneous updates on campaign strategy, either by phone or over the Internet. More than half of the 12,000 local party offices and all important staff and members of parliament are now connected to an Internet site created by the SPD's campaign headquarters. The link allows campaign workers to swap answers to difficult questions and compare strategy tips online while using a secure Internet connection.

The CDU has also set up a separate election campaign office this year, and the atmosphere here feels more upbeat than at SPD headquarters. The CDU’s strategy is to concentrate on hot-button issues like unemployment, tax policy and family support.

"Let's talk about quality of life," says one campaign worker. "I'm a single parent raising a child, how can the CDU help me ...that's where we generate interest."

By seizing those issues as its own, the party is seeking the support of moderate voters. But while the Christian Democrats are clearly in the lead, CDU party manager Laurenz Meyer (right) is aware that with elections just over four months away, there is no time for the party to be resting on its laurels.

"Our people have shown an enormous commitment," says CDU campaign manager Laurenz Meyer. "But we're all of the opinion that, given the current situation, we have to be careful not to sit back and think the elections have been won. We have a long way to go before the elections in September."

Considering the SPD’s continuing slide in opinion polls, he says, "I’m convinced that our political opponent will stop at nothing to turn the election around. I fear they'll even be using some unfair methods when it comes to our candidate, Edmund Stoiber."

Pitting Schröder versus Stoiber

The SPD’s national director and campaign strategist, Matthias Machnig, would be a happy man if his problems were that simple. But they aren’t.

Machnig has become a lightning rod for criticism. So far, his strategy of personalizing the campaign and boiling it down to the question of "Schröder or Stoiber" has produced little upward mobility for the SPD in polls. His only consolation is that Schröder himself has retained his popularity. And that, Machnig believes, is the most important thing.

"The election on September 22nd centers on one question: who'll become Germany's chancellor: Gerhard Schröder or Edmund Stoiber?" says Machnig. "It's a winning question for the SPD. If people see that as the main point on election day, we'll reap a very good result and the CDU/CSU a very bad one."

Of course, even in these seemingly personality-driven times, political platforms still play a role in elections. But SPD General Secretary Franz Müntefering believes that those issues must be communicated by individual personalities.

"Things will intensify," he says. "We've always said that there are three factors that belong together: the chancellor, competence and concept. These three factors must be taken into account. The parties have put their manifestos on the table now, and the manifestos are linked to personalities. People don't just vote for a certain platform. They vote for those who stand for a program, and in that respect, Gerhard Schröder is our trump card, no doubt about it."

A charisma problem

The SPD may have demonstrated a poor showing in polls so far this year, but the Union bloc has its own share of weaknesses. Most analysts agree that Edmund Stoiber lacks charisma in comparison to media-savvy Schröder. Stoiber's image advisor, Michael Spreng, has had little success turning that perception around.

Spreng (left), a former journalist and editor at the tabloid "Bild" newspaper, was hired after Stoiber made a mess of his first major television interview as a candidate. Spreng's first piece of advice was that Stoiber shouldn't lean too far to the right or left because elections are normally won at the center. Many have accused Spreng of trying to soften the candidate's personality - a charge he strongly denies.

"I think the only thing Edmund Stoiber has to do is sharpen his profile and establish himself firmly as candidate," Mr. Spreng says. "It would be wrong if we tried to change or remold him. And, anyhow, Stoiber is not a person who will let himself be changed or re-invented. The point is to establish Edmund Stoiber as we know him, and as I believe I know him, and to make sure that he wins the election and becomes chancellor."

Nevertheless, whenever Stoiber appears in public, be it in Germany or abroad, Spreng is there and keeps a watch on his client.

Going on the offensive

The competition is also watching. Keeping a close eye on the adversary and evaluating the media is part and parcel of every election campaign.

SPD organizers regularly attend CDU rallies and analyze its political platforms. They point out conflicting claims and publish their views over the Internet, which are sometimes even jazzed up with animations to prevent boredom. The SPD tried that strategy in the last election and it paid off. Now, the CDU has simply copied the idea, says one SPD campaign organizer.

"What kind of effect it's going to have once we've reached the hot campaign phase remains to be seen," offers Vito Cecere, who conducts opposition research for Schröder’s campaign. "But the CDU has learned from us and is now able now to conduct a campaign more modern than the last one in 1998."

The CDU also uses its websites to attack the SPD. The main target is Schröder and his economic policies. The CDU alleges that his leadership has made Germany’s the most anemic economy in Europe. In one ad on the site, Schröder is depicted as one of the seven dwarves, carrying a red lamp to signify that he is the last one in the convoy.

But infotainment isn't everything. One has to present facts, says Stefan Scholz of the CDU's website. His team listens to all major speeches given by government politicians. Whenever they think the government is bending the facts, they place links with original sources in the Internet so that voters can do some fact-checking of their own.

"Our website aims at presenting the real facts, including independent sources, which prove the government wrong," says Stefan Scholz, a CDU website staffer.

Hedging bets

While it may be important to have an ambitious Internet presence, both sides know that that alone won't win elections.

Increasingly, the SPD is seeking to complement the media clash of Schröder versus Stoiber with more traditional social-democratic content. SPD campaign advisors, it seems, are hedging their bets out of fear that just playing the trump card - namely Schröder - won't be enough to win the election.