Posted on 12/03/2002 4:26:47 PM PST by knighthawk
Germany's opposition Christian Democrats and the CSU, their ally in Bavaria, decided yesterday to demand a parliamentary investigation into whether Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's government suppressed embarrassing information on the economy prior to winning Sep-tember's general election.
The call, by the parties' national executive committees, was expected to be ratified by their parliamentary groups last night. That would make establishing an investigative committee almost certain, given such a move only requires support from 25 per cent of members of parliament.
The government, led by Mr Schröder's Social Democrats (SPD) in coalition with the Greens, which scraped back to power with a sharply reduced majority, has rejected the accusations.
Opposition leaders have argued that senior members of the government, notably Hans Eichel, finance minister, misled electors by denying the gravity of Germany's economic problems before voting day on September 22. Their charges have focused on the size the government budget deficit, now expected to reach 3.8 per cent of gross domestic product this year, and the need for urgent revenue raising measures.
The committee is unlikely to prove a serious embarrassment for the government, as the SPD and Greens would have the majority. However, the publicity could be a blow to the government at a time when its popularity is near rock bottom.
* The national executive of the small Free Democrats yesterday said it would take steps to expel Jürgen Möllemann, former deputy chairman, from the party. Mr Möllemann, at the centre of a funding scandal and under attack for controversial comments about the Israeli government, may also be ejected from the party's parliamentary group, meaning he would have to sit alone as an independent in parliament.
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For Jürgen Möllemann comments:
Germany: Accusations of Anti-Semitism Overshadow Middle East Visit
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