Schröder stages comeback ahead of decisive TV duel

Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor, and his conservative challenger Edmund Stoiber are preparing for the first television debate in their country's general election history.

The American-style television showdown tomorrow night comes as polls published yesterday showed that Mr Schröder's Social Democrat Party has cut the lead of the centre-right Opposition to just one or two points. Pollsters found Mr Schröder's handling of the flooding disaster over the past week was the main reason for his recovery.

With as many as 55 per cent of the voters (in the former East Germany) and 45 per cent (in the former West) still to make up their mind how to vote on 22 September, this first of two television debates could make all the difference.

Germany traditionally conducts its general election under party banners. This time Germans are relishing the prospect of a duel on television. The two debaters have been depicted as fighting cocks, performing bears, or simple pugilists. One report noted yesterday that the debate is being staged by an impresario whose speciality is boxing championships.

The two candidates are taking the contest as seriously as American campaign advisers take a presidential television debate. The height and design of the lecterns at which the candidates will stand has been the subject of tough negotiation. Mr Schröder is said to be sensitive to the fact that his challenger is a little taller than he is. The Schröder camp fears that their man's air of authority could be impaired if the size difference is too obvious.

Mr Stoiber has taken pains not to appear too "Bavarian''. North and former East Germans always found the Bavarian-ness of Franz-Josef Strauss, the last Bavarian to mount a serious challenge for the Chancellorship, off-putting. Nor is he a natural television performer like Mr Schröder. But Mr Stoiber has another disadvantage. Alongside Mr Schröder, he risks appearing stilted and old. There is less than three years between them – Mr Schröder is 58, Mr Stoiber approaching 61. But side by side, the gap looks like 20 years.

Mr Stoiber appears less practised than his rival in the niceties of visual politicking. He has been seen to take out his comb before press conferences, while the cameras are already rolling. He fidgets and freezes. The debate will be formal, in the manner of the earliest American television debates. The floods and the dispute about how to pay for them will be high on the agenda. Unemployment, the economy and immigration are other unavoidable topics.

Just when it seemed that all arrangements had been settled, from the design of the set – a pale blue backdrop – to the length of time for answers (80 seconds, with 60 seconds to follow-up), a last-minute hitch cropped up. Who takes the first question will be decided by tossing a coin. The Schröder team now says that elections are too serious to be treated as games of chance. They think the challenger should have to answer first.