CDU trounced in State poll

By Batuk Gathani

BRUSSELS, FEB. 28. Germany's scandal-hit Opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), today suffered a widely predicted electoral defeat in the key State of Schleswig- Holstein. The defeat also highlights major reverses in the political fortunes of the former Defence Minister, Mr. Volker Ruhe, a prominent leader of the party.

Mr. Ruhe, widely seen as a potential challenger to the Chancellor, Mr. Gerhard Schroeder, in the next federal elections due in two years, has suffered a major setback in his bid for the leadership of the party.

The Christian Democrats are now split into two camps over the leadership. The issue will be resolved at the party conference in April. Mr. Ruhe is being challenged by Miss Angela Merkel, a centre-right East German lady who has been serving as the party's secretary-general, but is unacceptable to the conservative rank and file. Mr. Ruhe is seen as a dynamic leader of what cynics call ``post-scandal reborn party of the new Christian Democrats''.

Mr. Ruhe was the party's leading candidate in Schleswig-Holstein. He earned enviable reputation while he served as Germany's Defence Minister.

For Mr. Ruhe's critics and rivals, all that may now be history in the background of the embarrassing defeat in the key State. The Christian Democrats have traditionally ruled in Schleswig- Holstein ever since the party was founded by the post- war Germany's first Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, in 1945. The party has ruled Germany for 37 of the past 50 years.

Schleswig-Holstein now slips into the hands of the Social Democrats, who are ruling at the Centre. The Christian Democrats were expecting an easy win in the State until their slush fund scandal broke a few weeks ago. The latest outcome throws further doubt on the outlook for the May elections in North Rhine- Westphelia State, the country's most populous one.

Two spectacular electoral reverses for the Christian Democrats in State elections could considerably boost the ruling Social Democrats' political fortunes and Mr. Schroeder's re- election prospects in two years time. The 16-week-old financial scandal is dramatically taking a huge toll of Christian Democrats' political fortunes. A great deal about the party's future now depends on who is elected as the leader of the party.

The German public was stunned by revelations about slush funds administered by the former Chancellor, Mr. Helmut Kohl, who still refuses to reveal the identity of the major donors.

The Christian Democrats have seen their support plummet dramatically and the latest results confirm this trend. The vote in Schleswig-Holstein is the first since the financial scandal hit the party. Mr. Volker cannot become the State Governor and this has weakened his chances of emerging as the party leader.

Mr. Ruhe has put on a brave face, saying the party's support has been ``stabilised'' and the result is better than predicted. The voter turnout was high - over 70 per cent in this quiet and industrious State of some 28 lakh people on the northern tip of Germany.

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Section  : International
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