Merkel Aims to Win Back Eastern Voters

Merkel was in damage-control mode as the week ended after Stoiber's remarks on eastern voters appeared to be seriously damaging her campaign. Stoiber provoked controversy earlier in the week after he characterized voters in the east as "frustrated" and questioned their judgment before general elections next month.

Merkel herself comes from eastern Germany, but despite this, her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is currently performing worse in the east than in the west.

In an interview with ZDF television late on Thursday, Merkel spoke of the 35 years she spent living under communism in East Germany, and stressed that she understood the concerns of the people in the region. She added that she wanted to be chancellor of all Germans.

"We will fight for every vote, but we definitely don’t need to insult voters," Merkel said. "Every move -- intentional or not -- which splits rather than unites Germany is totally counterproductive."

Slipping in the polls

Only a few weeks ago, the campaign for Merkel and the CDU looked like clear sailing, with the conservatives enjoying a sizeable lead over Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Social Democratic Party (SPD).

But that lead has shrunk, leaving the CDU and their likely coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party (FDP), defending a slim majority of 49 percent, barely ahead of the combined vote of the other parties strong enough to enter parliament.

Eastern voters could be forgiven for feeling slighted by the conservatives. Commenting last week on the shocking case of a German woman from the east charged with murdering nine of her newborn babies, senior conservative Jörg Schönbohm said the East German dictatorship had left easterners lacking in a sense of responsibility and morality.

Stoiber's comment this week that "those who are frustrated can't be allowed to determine the fate of Germany" only added insult to injury. And it may end up helping Schröder, who is bidding for a third term for his coalition of Social Democrats and Greens.

"His remark is not only tasteless, but shows a lack of democratic respect," said Schröder. "Stoiber's comment cements division and insults people who have had to live under harder conditions than we in the west."

The Left Party, led by the charismatic former finance minister Oskar Lafontaine, may also profit from the conservatives' gaffes, seeing as this new party is currently leading the polls in the east with more than 30 percent.