Schroeder denies resignation rumours
AFP, Berlin
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder found himself mired in resignation rumours Wednesday, forcing the German leader and his senior allies to rubbish reports that expose his fragility ahead of early elections. Schroeder himself dismissed a rumour allegedly sourced to a top official in his ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD). "I have no intention of commenting on the sort of rubbish which is put out by this or that person," he said late Tuesday. The SPD official, speaking in the German press under cover of anonymity, said Schroeder was under pressure from within the party to make way for Franz Muentefering, the party's chairman. Muentefering has led a recent campaign to try to re-engage the SPD with its traditional, working-class supporters by attacking what he sees as rampant capitalism.
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