Germany: House okays troop deployment

BERLIN, NOV. 16. The German Chancellor, Mr. Gerhard Schroeder, won a vote of confidence in the lower House of Parliament on Friday, securing a narrow majority that both bolsters his coalition Government and approves a German deployment in the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

Lawmakers voted 336-326 to back Mr. Schroeder's motion, which pledged 3,900 troops to the campaign. The governing coalition needed a majority of all lawmakers in the 666-seat legislature - 334 votes - to survive. The alliance of Mr. Schroeder's Social Democrats and the Greens Party has 341 seats. Four lawmakers didn't vote.

``As you can imagine, I'm happy to be able to continue my work for Germany with the full support of the coalition,'' Mr. Schroeder said after the vote. ``That was important for me, because it's clear that when things get serious this coalition stands together.'' With some pacifists in his coalition stubbornly opposing what would be Germany's largest foray outside Europe since World War II, Mr. Schroeder opted for the confidence vote - only the fourth in post-War Germany - rather than accepting approval of the deployment on the strength of Opposition support.

In a speech to Parliament, Mr. Schroeder urged lawmakers in his coalition to back the military deployment - thereby reinforcing the Government - in a signal to the world of Germany's reliability in the international fight against terrorism. The pledge does not involve ground troops or participation in air strikes. ``Today's decision on the military deployment will certainly be a turning point: for the first time soldiers will be readied for armed deployment outside the NATO region,'' Mr. Schroeder said. Mr. Schroeder's Social Democrats favoured new elections if Friday's vote failed. With the military deployment tied to a confidence vote, the Opposition vowed to vote against rather than support Mr. Schroeder, whose gamble they said harmed Germany's image abroad. ``You are playing thoughtlessly with foreign policy because you cannot manage your domestic policies, in a last-ditch effort to save your Government,'' the conservative Christian Democrats' parliamentary leader, Mr. Friedrich Merz, said.

With a Government majority of just 16, the Chancellor left dissenters little room for manoeuvre, and the outcome of the vote was on a knife-edge going into Friday's session. His Social Democrats, except for one lawmaker, closed ranks and only four Greens - out of eight who had said they would oppose the military pledge - opposed the deployment.

As about 60 anti-war protesters demonstrated outside, Greens leaders made impassioned pleas to lawmakers to back Mr. Schroeder. ``The decision as to whether this Government wins is a decision on the future of this country - whether we can continue the ecological and social renewal of this country,'' the Foreign Minister, Mr. Joschka Fischer, said. ``Germany needs this policy.''

Mr. Schroeder's coalition has survived repeated bouts of tension over sending German forces to the Balkans in recent years, with Mr. Fischer among the most ardent backers of deployments aimed at curbing greater threats. Still, some pacifist Greens and Social Democrats viewed the latest mandate as too sweeping, while others question the U.S. strategy of striking Afghan targets to root out terrorism.

- AP

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Section  : International
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