German President Horst Koehler faces daunting political pressure to agree to early elections despite claims by some legal experts that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's unconventional plan is unconstitutional, Reuters reproted. Koehler has until the end of next week to decide whether to dissolve parliament after Schroeder deliberately lost a vote of confidence in the lower house of parliament on July 1. With Schroeder's Social Democrats moving increasingly to the left and the Christian Democrats under Angela Merkel pressing a business-friendly agenda, Koehler's decision could have major implications for the course of German politics in coming years. Schroeder surprised friends and opponents alike on May 22 when he announced he would be seeking new federal elections after a crushing defeat in a key regional poll. Constitutional lawyers are sharply divided about the legality of the move, which critics say abuses a procedure designed by the architects of Germany's postwar constitution to avoid the chronic instability of the Weimar Republic. But with the media and all the main political parties embracing the idea of an election, probably on Sept. 18, they say it will be difficult for Koehler to reject an early poll. "The political pressure is enormous of course," said Hans Hugo Klein, a former member of Germany's Constitutional Court. "The Chancellor has used that quite consciously and the opposition is playing along because they're hoping to win the election." --more 1243 Local Time 0943 GMT
