Conservatives brand German result a 'missed opportunity'

Monday, 19 September 2005 12:00 AM

The Conservatives have described the German general election results, which have ended in a stalemate between the two main parties, as a "missed opportunity".

Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) have gained just three seats more than chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats - which means there could be weeks of uncertainty in Europe's largest economy, as the two parties scramble to form a coalition.

Provisional results suggest the conservative CDU secured about 35.2 per cent of the vote, or 225 seats, with Mr Schroeder's Social Democrats one point behind on 34.3 per cent.

Shadow foreign secretary Liam Fox said the election had presented an opportunity to enact "badly needed" economic reform in continental Europe, and described the results as a "disappointment of historic proportions".

Dr Fox said it would now be much more difficult to carry through "economic reforms that would make Europe more competitive".

Ms Merkel, a lady dubbed the German Thatcher by some commentators, had been widely predicted to win a landslide victory against a backdrop of high unemployment and an underperforming German economy.

But the results fell well short of the "clear mandate" Ms Merkel sought, and the leaders of both main parties are declaring they can be the next chancellor.

It is believed that the CDU lost support over specific measures - such as a proposed 'flat tax' that would see different bands of income tax abolished and replaced by one rate of 25 per cent.

The two main parties will now have to cobble together a coalition from the various smaller parties. But with the result so close, there is even the possibility of a right-left "grand coalition" between the two main parties.

If there is no deal by October 18th there will have to be fresh elections.

The results are expected to disappoint Number 10. British officials had hoped a CDU victory would pave the way for EU reform.

The final result will be given after an October 2nd election in Dresden, where voting was delayed following the death of a candidate this month.

A total of 77.7 per cent of eligible voters came out to vote, a figure slightly down on 2002 when 79.1 per cent of the 62 million eligible Germans voted.

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