Casting the chancellorship

On the Web site of German public broadcaster ZDF, potential viewers of "Ich kann Kanzler" ("I can be Chancellor") can watch videos submitted by six finalists, who lay out their political agendas. Most of the videos are simple and grainy, and appear to have been shot almost spontaneously in a family basement.

But some did go a bit further. One candidate, Philip Kalisch, 31, got a friend to film him on his balcony, and is styled like a long lost member of the popular rock band Kings of Leon.

Another candidate whom some are describing as the favorite, Delano Osterbrauck, went all out. Osterbrauck's video is a fairly professional-looking montage of him walking around in a suit past stately buildings in his hometown of Munich, interspersed with stills of the Chancellery in Berlin and slogans like "Harness the strengths of all our citizens." It also doesn't hurt that the 18-year-old student is a dead ringer for a young Barack Obama.

Television's allure

ZDF is betting that the youth of Germany might well warm to politics if it gets them on a TV casting show. Some 2,500 people between the ages of 18 and 35 submitted videos through the network's Web site.

That's a far cry from the 30,000 who tried out for the last season of "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" - Germany's version of Pop Idol - or the mob scene that ensued in Duesseldorf earlier this year when Heidi Klum held an open casting for "Germany's Next Top Model." But producers said they thought the turnout for Kanzler was good, considering it's a show that nobody has ever seen.

From that pool of 2,500 applicants, 40 were selected to come to Bonn. There, each one made a brief speech in the old Bundestag where, for forty odd years, the real German chancellors held court. Sizing them up was a panel of judges made up of a politician, a TV talk show host who's interviewed quite a few politicians, and a comedy actress with experience in sending them up.

Grooming candidates early

The show is not really meant to find the country a future head of government. The real prize: one monthly salary of the chancellor of about 25,000 euros ($35,000) and an internship on the ZDF's program "Zentrum der Macht" ("Center of Power"). But the exposure gained on the show, some believe, might well catapult the contestants into public roles within their chosen parties that could lead to much more in the future.

"Among the 40 that we had at the audition;" the host of the show Steffen Seibert said, "there were definitely at least 10 that I could see, 10 or 15 years from now, in leading positions."

For the most part, however, said the politician on the panel, the former premier of the German city-state of Bremen, Henning Scherf, the show is an attempt to make politics an exciting topic - or even a career choice - among young people.

"I hope it will embolden smart, young, engaged people to participate in the political process. They have to have role models, and they have to have incentives," said Scherf. "We have to strive to make sure they are convinced it's worth their while, and arouse their curiosity - not just preach to them."

The push to get young people involved is stepping into high gear, as Germany prepares to vote for a new government on September 27.

Canadian import

The show is patterned after the CBC program "Canada's Next Great Prime Minister." It grew up out of an essay contest, made it to the network three years ago, and ended up as a surprise hit.

For the latest edition, the fourth on the CBC, the network even lured Alex Trebek, superstar host of the American game show "Jeopardy!" to come back to his native Canada to present the program. The show also has some even bigger names on its panel of judges: former prime ministers Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell, Joe Clark and Paul Martin.

The CBC has been selling the concept around the world and Germany's version is set to be followed by others in Australia and Britain.

mrh/dpa/KNA

Editor: Susan Houlton