Opinion: Unconvincing Win Hands Hardliner Power

Germany's most influential trade union, IG Metall, has elected a traditionalist hardliner to lead it for the next four years.

After weeks of paralysing power struggles, Jürgen Peters -- the candidate appointed by the union's executive in July -- was voted chairman of the powerful trade union by a modest 66 per cent of members in Sunday's elections.

The slim two-thirds majority was the worst result for an IG Metall chairman in 40 years, even though Peters was the sole candidate standing. His deputy Berthold Huber fared only marginally better, attracting 67 percent. Peters replaces Klaus Zwickel, who resigned amid accusations that IG Metall had lost its power to influence government policy.

59-year-old Peters takes the helm of Germany's influential union at a crucial moment in its history. The biggest challenges he faces are how to stop IG Metall's steady loss of members, which has badly hit its funds, and regain some of its political clout.

Divided Loyalties

Analysts believe the fight between the union's two opposing camps is far from over and the union's future direction is not yet clear.

At present, IG Metall is too busy with internal wrangling between leftwing traditionalists and progressives to close ranks against its traditional opponents.

Over the summer, many saw Jürgen Peters as Germany's pariah, the man blamed for the doomed strike earlier this year with a public persona of a zealous hardliner. In fact, he's open-minded when it comes to modern solutions -- as his track record as regional head of IG Metall in Lower Saxony shows. He was closely involved with negotiating Volkwagen's flexible working hours and innovative wage agreements.

An Unlikely Duo

Peters' zeal will be tempered by Berthold Huber, a relative moderniser, who was elected as his deputy. The partnership is seen as a compromise between the Union's two factions but hardly a love-match -- in Huber's own words. Both have been accused of using the union's in-fighting to further their personal ambitions and neither are seen to be willing to meet the other half-way.

Huber enjoys wider support among the union committee than Peters, who is considered to be a somewhat isolated figure. Moreover, age dictates than Peters can only remain head for the next four years -- and Huber is already being tipped as his successor.

Picking up the pieces

Observers fear that IG Metall will have to concentrate over the next few years on healing the rifts caused by the bitter leadership row. This, coupled with the collapse of the strike action -- the first defeat for an IG Metall strike since 1954 -- means the union currently feels its influenced has been seriously undermined. Even employers are concerned -- after all, a weakened union is an unreliable partner in pay negotiations. And as the government plans to push through labor-market reforms, stable trade unions are more crucial than ever.

Whether IG Metall likes it or not, the range of regional and internal tariffs, individual contract solutions and industrial leagues is set to increase.

Analysts say if IG Metall wants to remain relevant, its new
leadership has to re-assess its political strategies and accept employers' demands for greater flexibility in sectoral wage bargaining.

Just as the German economy shouldn't try to resist globalization but should use it to its own advantage, trade unions shouldn't attempt to distance themselves from current economic and social changes. Attempts to do so have simply resulted in declining membership and influence.

In the 1960s and 70s, Germany's trade unions blazed a trail for progress. Today, they're lagging behind a fast-moving world. Jürgen Peters and Berthold Huber will now have to decide whether to work with or against Chancellor Schröder, a difficult choice that will determine whether the mighty IG Metall can recover some of its lost clout.