Desperate Measures

REUTERS

STILL WAITING: Berliners outside an employment office

When Gerhard Schröder was first elected German Chancellor in 1998, 3.8 million Germans were out of work. "If we do not considerably lower the unemployment rate, we do not deserve to be re-elected," Schröder said at the time. Seven years later, there are 5.2 million unemployed and Schröder is terrified that voters will take him literally. Last week, the Chancellor unveiled a plan aimed at jump-starting the economy, and met with the leaders of the conservative opposition in a much ballyhooed "jobs summit." But like so many attempted German reforms of recent years, the plan seems likely to get diluted by...

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