- Title: Merkel's conservatives promise full employment by 2025
- Date: 3rd July 2017
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (JULY 3, 2017) (REUTERS POOL) CSU EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL TALKING HEAD OF CHRISTIAN SOCIAL UNION (CSU) HORST SEEHOFER TALKING CSU AND CDU BOARD MEMBERS TALKING VARIOUS OF MERKEL TALKING TO SEEHOFER MEMBERS SITTING AT PODIUM WITH MERKEL PAN OVER MEETING ROOM GERMAN DEFENCE MINISTER URSULA VON DER LEYEN AND GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER WOLFGANG SCHAEUBLE SITTING NEXT TO EACH OTHER WIDE OF MEETING TABLES GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER THOMAS DE MAIZIERE TALKING
- Embargoed: 17th July 2017 14:17
- Keywords: CDU/CSU Merkel elections election programme Seehofer
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA0026O5VGW7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives promised Germany more police, more homes and full employment within eight years when they presented their programme on Monday (July 3) for an election in which she will seek a fourth term in office.
With Europe's biggest economy growing robustly, Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), are able to offer voters tax relief and more investment after the Sept. 24 ballot.
The allies hold a clear opinion poll lead over the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), but would still need to team up with another party to govern.
On Monday they added the goal of full employment - which they define as a jobless rate of less than 3 percent - by 2025 to their list of campaign pledges.
"We think we can do this," Merkel told a news conference with CSU leader Horst Seehofer convened to present the election programme, adding that jobs were central to the quest for 'prosperity and security for all'.
Germany's jobless rate is currently at a post-reunification low of 5.5 percent. A level of 3 percent has not been seen since the "Economic Miracle" boom of the mid-1970s.
The conservative parties want to add 15,000 police officers in the 16 federal states, build 1.5 million homes during the next parliamentary term, and expand Germany's broadband network.
This responds to pressure from the International Monetary Fund and European Commission, which have said Berlin has room to lift investment infrastructure, which would help reduce its current account deficit and benefit weaker euro zone peers.
Merkel said an expanded version of the euro zone's bailout fund - the European Stability Mechanism - could play a bigger role in future crises, and perhaps act alone.
In tackling Greece's debt crisis, the euro zone has teamed up with the IMF at the insistence of German lawmakers. However, the Fund has proven a reluctant partner.
Last week, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said there were discrepancies between Germany, EU institutions and the IMF on whether Greece's debt was sustainable.
The CDU/CSU are polling around 40 percent, some 16 percentage point ahead of the SPD, their current coalition partner. - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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