The German Chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl, sought to dispel criticism from within his own ranks yesterday, as his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) gathered in Leipzig for its annual conference. Some young CDU members have called on Dr Kohl to step down as party chairman after next September's federal elections.
In an interview published in Focus magazine today, the Chancellor called on his critics to challenge him openly for the party's nomination as candidate for chancellor. "Anybody who doesn't want me as a candidate should say it openly," he said.
Dr Kohl, who has been chancellor for 15 years, has led the CDU since 1973 and governs the party with a tight grip. Although his critics acknowledge that the chancellor is their party's strongest electoral asset, some would like him to give his colleagues a bigger share of the limelight.
"We have good people and we shouldn't hide them behind Kohl," said the party's deputy parliamentary leader, Mr Heiner Geissler.
Only 30 per cent of Germans think Dr Kohl is the right man to lead Germany into the new millennium, and the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) are confident of victory in next year's elections.
The SPD parliamentary leader, Mr Rudolf Scharping, yesterday warned supporters not to become complacent about the election battle, adding that the party must persuade voters that it is the best guarantor of a secure future and social justice.
The opposition to Dr Kohl within the CDU is led by the party's youth wing which has tabled a resolution at Leipzig criticising the government's performance.
"After 15 years in government, it is difficult for the CDU to prove that it is ready for the future. The impression that the country is paralysed is also due to the party's failure of reforming power, delayed action and lack of will to get things done," the resolution says.
Such sniping is likely to be forgotten when Dr Kohl addresses the conference today and he is almost certain to receive a standing ovation.
But next year's election campaign will be his most difficult, as he faces a rejuvenated opposition and an electorate angry at his government's failure to tackle Germany's record unemployment.
Dr Kohl's crown prince, the CDU parliamentary leader, Mr Wolfgang Schauble, appears to be resigned to the government's defeat already and is trying to pave the way for a grand coalition with the SPD. He said yesterday that such a coalition, which is anathema to the Chancellor, is a possibility and blamed the small Liberal Free Democrats (FDP) for the government's troubles.
Dr Kohl also has to endure sniping from his Bavarian allies in the Christian Social Union (CSU) who are angry at CDU plans to adopt a position paper on the euro at Leipzig. The Bavarian prime minister, Mr Edmund Stoiber, who favours delaying economic and monetary union (EMU) rather than fudging the criteria for entry, said at the weekend that the CSU would draft its own paper on the single currency.
An overwhelming majority of Germans oppose the euro but there will be no referendum on the issue. Dr Kohl is confident he can override public opinion to drive the project through. Big business and the political establishment favour EMU but the Chancellor acknowledged at the weekend that many Germans fear the new currency will be unstable.
"The Germans have experienced the deutschmark, which will be 50 years old in the summer of 1998. The deutschmark came before the flag, before the national anthem and before the Federal Republic. Next to the dollar and the yen, it has risen to become one of the three most important currencies. I will fight passionately for a stable euro," he said.