SPD Calls for Changes in Schröder's Reform Plans

Days after German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder stepped down as chairman of the Social Democrat Party (SPD), calls are growing louder for the government to change tack and rectify socially-unjust reforms introduced last year. Members of the SPD as well as the Green party, the junior partner in the ruling coalition, are urging a rethink of Agenda 2010, the government’s comprehensive package of social and labor reforms. Many in the SPD want to ease the burden on ordinary people who are now left paying more for health services and making do with reduced unemployment and social benefits. The Greens are pushing for a reintroduction of the wealth tax that will see richer people paying more into tax coffers. The calls have been backed by the trade unions.