Election TV clash

With just two weeks to go before the elections, Frank-Walter Steinmeier needs to do something dramatic to boost his Social Democratic Party's (SDP) chances of getting more than the 23 percent of the vote that pollsters are predicting.

Steinmeier is the chancellor candidate for the Social Democratic Union (SPD) for the national election on September 27, as well as foreign minister. His SPD currently rules with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in an uneasy "grand coalition."

With organizers hoping that at least 21 million people will tune in at 8:30 pm German time on Sunday, the 90-minute TV debate could prove Steinmeier's last opportunity to turn around his party's fortunes.

"The TV debate is Steinmeier's big chance because he will reach millions of people," political scientist Karl-Rudolf Korte told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Merkel and Steinmeier will be grilled by four prominent journalists on a wide range of topics, including the economic crisis and the war in Afghanistan.

Steinmeier tries to seize initiative on German role in Afghanistan

Just hours before the TV clash, Steinmeier's foreign ministry released a ten-point point to pull out German troops from Afghanistan.

German news magazine Der Spiegel reported that the plan called for the withdrawal of the roughly 4,200 German troops deployed in Afghanistan by 2013. That could prove popular as most Germans want their soldiers to come home.

The German army's operations in Afghanistan have become a campaign issue ever since a controversial airstrike called by the German army last week. The strike, which is being investigated by NATO, may have killed many civilians.

German operations in Afghanistan have came under heavy international criticism after the incident.

Could TV clash energize dreary campaign?

The German election campaign so far has been largely uninspiring and non-combative. Both candidates are considered uncharismatic and they've avoided attacking each other because they've been coalition partners for the last four years.

One of the moderators of the debate, RTL television news chief Peter Kloeppel, said he hoped the debate would finally inject some enthusiasm into what has been a largely dreary campaign.

"We can try to pour some oil onto the fire but they will both have to play their part. We can only hope they want to, we cannot order them to," Kloeppel said in an interview with daily Nuremburger Zeitung, adding "It's a duel, not a wild shootout."

But some experts warn not to expect too much from the debate.

"Here come two people from the same government to tell us how it all went - not very exciting," Claus Leggewie from the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities told the WAZ daily.

Media expert Hans-Hermann Tiedje said people would tune in "out of pure desperation."

"I would rather go and see Knut. That would be more informative," Tiedje told newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, referring to the Berlin zoo polar bear who is something of a global star.

Steinmeier's uphill fight

But Steinmeier, who is both foreign minister and vice-chancellor, will have his work cut to close a double-digit gap on the hugely popular Chancellor Angela Merkel. A recent poll puts Steinmeier's Social Democrats at 23 percent, far behind Merkel's conservatives on 36 percent.

This is Steinmeier's first run at higher office and his poll numbers indicate that he hasn't really connected with the public. That may change tonight.

"What we have seen so far is that Steinmeier is uncomfortable in the role of candidate," Manfred Guellner, the head of polling firm Forsa said. "It will be tough to score points against Merkel, who has gained a lot of experience with public events like this."

Tough, but not impossible. A large swing in voter opinion is not unheard of in German politics.

Back in 2002, in a debate between Gerhard Schroeder and Edmund Stoiber, Schroeder hammered Stoiber on Iraq and turned a likely defeat for the SPD into a victory.

Merkel has the upper hand

Chancellor Merkel, could benefit from tonight's debate in a couple of ways. By holding her own, or even impressing the voters, she could stop the erosion of support for her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in recent weeks.

Despite the conservatives' lead over the SPD, it is far from certain whether Merkel will win enough votes to form a coalition with her desired partners, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP).

Nearly two-thirds of Germans (64 percent) believe Merkel will "win" Sunday's debate, compared to only 15 percent who think Steinmeier will triumph, according to a poll for ARD public television.

av/Reuters/AP/AFP
Editor: Sonia Phalnikar