SPD craves new blood

ForTageszeitung, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the social-democrat candidate for the German chancellor's office in 2009 elections, was just a little too smarmy when he presented his campaign team on 30 July. Angela Merkel is on holiday, and the SPD, which trails the Chancellor's CDU/CSU by 15 points in the polls, wants to give the impression that anything is possible. Leading with the headline "To save party of living-dead, sinister candidate brings in new blood," the Berlin daily notes that women are well-represented on the team, which includes plenty of unknowns alongside all SPD government ministers with the exception of Ulla Schmidt — who has been vilified in the wake of a scandal concerning her car. "The message is clear," says the TAZ, whiletaking the view that it completely misses the mark — an overnight initiative to include young people and women will do little to distract attention from "the dinosaur status of party leaders."