manny_ramirez
03.03.05, 13:05
Poor get poorer in Schroder's Germany.
By HUGH WILLIAMSON
330 words
3 March 2005
Financial Times
Europe Ed1
Page 1
English
(c) 2005 The Financial Times Limited. All rights reserved
Germany's government, fighting a rising tide of unemployment ahead of key
elections, acknowledged yesterday that poor people in the country had become
poorer and rich people richer since Gerhard Schroder came to power as
chancellor in 1998.
Coming a day after unemployment hit a post-war high of 5.2m, the findings of
the government report - one of the largest studies of Germany's income
divide - are likely to increase pressure on the chancellor.
The setback to German egalitarianism is also the latest blow to Mr Schroder's
Social Democratic party (SPD), which is reeling from protests over jobless
benefit cuts, high unemployment and a scandal over illegal immigrants
entering Germany.
Opposition leaders said the findings showed the government's project of
increasing social justice had failed.
The widening earnings gap is expected to be a point of contention during the
election campaign in May for the regional parliament of North Rhine-
Westphalia. The SPD hopes to retain the state.
Franz Thonnes, deputy social affairs minister, downplayed the study, saying
Germany remained a relatively egalitarian society, "very far from social
conditions found in America". He said weak economic growth was to blame for
increases in relative poverty.
The report shows the proportion of poor people in Germany, defined as "people
at risk of poverty", increased from 12.1 per cent in 1998 to 13.5 per cent in
2003. The category includes those living on less than 60 per cent of average
income, which for a single adult living alone means less than Euros 938 per
month.
By this definition 41 per cent of jobless people are poor as are 35 per cent
of single parents.
In contrast, the richest 10 per cent of the population owns 47 per cent of
private wealth, up from a 44 per cent share in 1998. Fees fuel universities
debate, Page 3 Editorial Comment, Observer, Page 16
