VZCZCXYZ0015
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRL #0442 0641531
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051531Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7306
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BERLIN 000442 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SOCI PGOV GM
SUBJECT: KINDERGARTEN CAPERS: CDU EATS THE SPD'S LUNCH 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary.  In the debate with minority conservative 
elements in her own party over creation of new 
day-care/pre-school slots for Germany's children, Chancellor 
Merkel is advancing her program of modernizing the CDU's 
social image.  At the same time, she has stolen at least some 
of the Social Democrats' thunder as the socially progressive 
party.  The substantive dispute with the SPD is small, 
however, and if compromise can be reached on funding the new 
slots, it will represent a substantial achievement in the 
social sphere, to the possible benefit of coalition 
stability.  However, if the CDU is able to use the issue to 
win big in important 2008 state elections, the already 
unhappy SPD rank-and-file may become further alienated from 
the Grand Coalition.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) CDU Minister for Family Policy Ursula von der Leyen 
has raised a storm with proposals to create 750,000 new 
day-care/pre-school places in Germany, where policy has long 
been structured to favor stay-at-home mothers.  Beyond 
seeking a policy response to Germany's low birth rate and low 
employment particiaption rate for women, the proposal must 
also be seen in the context of Merkel's long-term push to 
reform the CDU's view of society and social policy so as to 
maintain or increase the party's electability.  The storm 
arose, in the first instance, as social conservatives in the 
CDU and, especially, Bavarian CSU criticized the move, as 
have conservative Catholics.  However, the popularity of the 
proposal in the CDU as a whole is undoubted and no major 
figure has taken up opposition.  Rather, state leaders such 
as Roland Koch, Christian Wulff, and Juergen Ruettgers have 
spoken in favor of the proposal. 
 
¶3. (U) An aspect of the debate that offers Merkel and the CDU 
greater opportunities has been the impact of von der Leyen's 
proposal on the SPD.  Concerned about the potential blow to 
the SPD's image as the party of social justice (in a Spiegel 
poll published March 3, 33% of respondents say the CDU/CSU is 
doing the most for families, 26% say the SPD), General 
Secretary Beck and four other party leaders called a press 
 
SIPDIS 
conference on February 26 to present the SPD's own plans for 
early years child care.  However, many of the basics seem 
already agreed -- both the number of new places and the 
preservation of a system of child support payments for 
families who wish to keep their children at home in their 
pre-school years are agreed.  Thus, the SPD criticism of von 
der Leyen's proposal largely focused on the lack of a 
detailed plan for funding the new places.  The SPD did 
present a financial plan, and the debate is now likely to 
shift to coalition wrangling over the financial details. 
Chancellor Merkel has called for negotiations within the 
coalition and has said that "where there's a will, there's a 
way." 
 
¶4. (U) Already buoyed in polls by her leadership role in the 
EU and G-8, agreement on an increase in child-care coverage 
could give Merkel and the government a substantial domestic 
policy boost (much needed after the tax increase and widely 
disparaged health care reform).  The benefit to the CDU could 
also be considerable among women, younger voters, and 
urbanites - the root of the SPD's worries (Note: CSU SecGen 
Soeder has told ConGen Munich that working-age women are one 
of the weakest demographic groups for the party.  End Note). 
The SPD will continue to scramble to make up lost ground. 
Some observers are already suggesting that the CDU's 
initiative could reinforce its strong position in Hesse, 
where the SPD had hoped to use family policy as a key plank 
in its January 2008 election campaign.  While seemingly 
contradictory, it is conceivable that while the government as 
a whole gains from a new child care policy, the SPD could 
become more dissatisfied with a Grand Coalition. 
KOENIG