Abstract

This clip from the news program Tagesschau shows scenes from the start of the SPD election campaign for the 2002 Bundestag elections in Hannover. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder began his re-election campaign in the capital of Lower Saxony, of which he had been Minister President before being elected Chancellor in 1998. In his combative speech, he addressed, among other things, the criticism of his government by the business community, which blamed him for rising unemployment, which was also reflected in poor poll ratings. Schröder also assures voters that Germany will not deploy troops to fight in Iraq while he is chancellor.

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder Kicks Off His Reelection Campaign in Hannover (August 5, 2002)

Source

/Reporter: The Chancellor is beaming: the sun is shining, it's Doris' birthday and thousands of Hanoverians have flocked to the Opera Square. Ideal conditions for an early start to the election campaign. The SPD wants to win the election with an "independent German way".

/Schröder: We have achieved a lot, but we have not achieved everything, so I think we need to renew our mandate in order to complete this German path.

/Reporter: Part of Schröder's German path is that Germany will not allow itself to be dragged into a war against Iraq by the USA.

/Schröder: Playing around with war and military intervention, I can only warn against that, and we will have no part in it, ladies and gentlemen!

/Reporter: The SPD also wants to set itself apart from the USA in terms of social policy. Paying managers millions in compensation but putting the little people out on the street cannot be a model for this country.

/Schröder: My appeal to the German economy: don't act as the opposition's fifth column, but provide training opportunities in your companies! That is your duty!

/Reporter: The Chancellor did not mention his opponent Edmund Stoiber once.

Source: Tagesschau, August 5, 2002.
https://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/sendung/tagesschau_vor_20_jahren/video-1067711.html

tagesschau

Recommended Citation

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder Kicks Off His Reelection Campaign in Hannover (August 5, 2002), published in: German History in Documents and Images, <https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/a-new-germany-1990-2023/ghdi:video-5124> [April 23, 2024].