BERLIN, May 31 (UPI) -- Germany's main opposition party has elected a woman to lead it into elections challenging Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as early as September.
The Christian Democrats elected Angela Merkel, 50, to lead the party Sunday, and The Times of London said polls Monday indicate she could become not only the first woman chancellor but also, the first German leader since Konrad Adenauer in the 1950s to rule with an absolute majority.
The Christian Democrats are ahead in the opinion polls at 45 percent to 30 percent for Schroeder's Social Democrats.
The newspaper said Monday an analysis of Merkel's platform shows she would not depart radically from Schroeder's reform course.
Merkel will offer a more pro-business and more pro-United States course. It will be easier for small companies to fire, and therefore hire, workers, and corporate taxes will be reduced. However, gasoline prices would stay high, pensions would remain at their current level and the workweek would become longer, to as long as 42 hours.
