Kohl launches home stretch of uphill reelection campaign

AP Online August 23, 1998 | TONY CZUCZKA Associated Press Writer TONY CZUCZKA Associated Press Writer AP Online 08-23-1998 BONN, Germany (AP) _ Chancellor Helmut Kohl portrayed himself as a trusted statesman in uncertain times Sunday as he urged supporters to help him rally votes. go to site kohls coupons printable

With just five weeks left in his toughest campaign as incumbent, Kohl told 18,000 party faithful at a Dortmund civic center that the election was a fight for the direction of Germany and painted his opponent as a showman hiding behind vague promises.

“We can win. We want to win. We will win,” Kohl pledged. His conservative Christian Democrats lag in the polls, but many voters say they haven’t decided who they will choose in Sept. 27 parliamentary elections.

Kohl’s measured tone and well-worn rhetoric Sunday contrasted with Social Democratic candidate Gerhard Schroeder’s impassioned speeches in three cities Saturday.

Much of Kohl’s hour-long speech focused on his achievements in 16 years as chancellor, including German unification. But Kohl offered few specifics about what he would do in the next four years if reelected.

Kohl, 68, claimed the Social Democrats were trying to confuse undecided voters by suggesting that Germany’s two major parties might govern together in a “grand coalition.”

He ruled out the possibility as “silly talk,” and warned Germans against electing an untested government. Kohl emphasized the importance of a stable Germany in the heart of Europe as financial crises rock Russia and Asia and tensions rise in the Balkans and Africa.

Germany faces a political choice between “two fundamentally opposing directions” as it heads toward the new millennium, Kohl said, citing opinion polls showing his party is closing the gap with the Social Democrats.

“We’re going to make it,” he proclaimed.

Kohl charged his foes were running “a campaign of the forked tongue” that lacked clear ideas for the nation’s future and obscured sacrifices Germans would have to make to compete in the world economy.

“The aim is to deceive voters,” he declared.

But in a move some saw as desperate, Kohl also gave the floor to two critics in an effort to demonstrate openness to new ideas.

Lothar Spaeth, who runs a high-tech company in eastern Germany, and Saxony state governor Kurt Biedenkopf, an economist, have long accused Kohl of moving too slowly on reforming Germany’s welfare state. in our site kohls coupons printable

Both were enlisted this year to try to rally votes in the east, where Kohl’s support has crumbled since unification because of the region’s economic problems.

The chancellor said a shift to the political left would worsen the economic decline. Kohl said Germany’s record unemployment – the core campaign issue – would improve under his government.

“That is why it’s important for us to stay on course,” he said.