TREATING A SYMPTOM, NOT THE DISEASE:

Woman to Lead Conservatives in German Election (Christian Retzlaff, May 31, 2005, LA Times)

Germany's conservative opposition parties announced Monday that Angela Merkel, chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union, would be their candidate for chancellor in early national elections expected to be held this autumn.

Merkel, who was raised in the former communist East Germany, had been widely expected to seek the chancellorship and would become the nation's first female leader if she prevailed against current Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

At a news conference Monday, Merkel promised to present an electoral platform by mid-July that would emphasize the "courage to be honest."

"Finding ways to create jobs for the people in Germany will be at the center of my work," she said

Except the problem is they aren't creating Germans.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 31, 2005 7:24 AM