Schröder Faces Internal Opposition To Reforms

Olaf Scholz, a politician by trade, chose the words of a surgeon on Monday to describe the conflicts simmering within the Social Democratic Party over Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's proposed reforms that include cuts in unemployment and health benefits.

It will be "no easy operation," said Scholz, the party's general secretary.

The operation focuses on winning party support for the plans that Schröder announced on Friday in his attempt to resuscitate an economy that is lingering on the edge of recession, that has produced a legion of 4.7 million unemployed people and is suffering under the weight of constantly climbing premiums for the national healthcare system.

Cuts in jobless, health benefits

During his address to the national parliament in Berlin, the Social Democratic chancellor proposed to cut jobless benefits for people younger than 55 to a maximum of 12 months instead of the current 32 months and for people 55 and older to a maximum of 18 months.

Turning to the national health insurance system, the chancellor said his goal was to cut premiums. Today, the average premium is 14.3 percent of gross pay, and is generally shared on a 50-50 basis between employers and employees. The chancellor wants to reduce that premium to 13 percent.

One way he wants to lighten the load carried by the insurers is to require people to take out private insurance if they want to receive funds to help them with long-term injury and illness. Today, the public insurance companies begin paying this assistance at the start of the seventh week that a person has been out of work. The change is designed to save insurers €7 billion ($7.5 billion).

The proposals produced an outcry from members of the Social Democrats' left wing and from some of the country's labor union.

Fight in parliament pledged

One of the parliamentary leaders of this wing alluded on Monday to the fight ahead. "You have to know that we as parliamentarians have to ensure that this program is balanced," Michael Müller said. "I think the question of who votes for the program will depend on whether we are successful."

Müller made the comment after other members of the left wing expressed barbed criticism.

To Andrea Nahles, a former parliamentarian who leads the group Democratic Left, the proposals reflect the government's surrender to "a barrage of laissez-fair artillery fire." And to Michael Sommer, the head of the German Trade Union Federation, the proposals represent "a clear break" of election campaign promises. "We will do everything possible to stop them during the legislative process. If necessary, we cannot rule out going to court," said Sommer (photo).

But the chancellor seemed to be unimpressed by such criticism in a television interview he gave on Sunday evening. "It must be finally possible to start something like this in Germany, to push it through," he said.

Party leadership backs plans

The chancellor took a first step on Monday toward winning approval. The party's leadership committee unanimously endorsed the concept, Scholz said. Over the next few weeks, Schröder will turn his attention to winning over the party's rank and file in a series of four regional conferences. Scholz said the aim was to have the changes on the books by summer.

Even if Schröder reaches this goal, 81 percent of Germans said in a survey that they were not sure the reforms would have much effect.