Bonn - Germany's Social Democratsic Party (SPD) signalled yesterday that unemployment will would be at the centre of their its campaign to topple Chancellor Helmut Kohl's centre-right government at September's federal election, Denis Staunton reports. The party's candidate, Mr Gerhard Schroder, described Dr Kohl as the chancellor of unemployment and told a party conference in Leipzig that an SPD victory would complete a shift to the centre-left throughout Europe.
Mr Schroder was elected unopposed as the party's candidate and the conference passed an election manifesto that put jobs first but stressed the SPD's new, business-friendly image.
Mr Schroder, who entered the conference hall accompanied by an uplifting theme tune and a smartly-produced video, promised to cut taxes and to create an "alliance for jobs" incorporating employers, unions and the government.
He promised to make the euro work, despite his earlier criticism of the new currency and said that Germany would remain a reliable European partner under an SPD-led government. The manifesto calls for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) to be used as a motor for job creation within the European Union and calls for a common European economic and finance policy.