Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) will sharpen its profile at its annual party congress beginning in Hanover on Monday, according to dpa. Merkel told journalists during a tour of the conference hall that the CDU would spell out the distinctions between itself and its Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partner. The Christian Democrats have said they will stake their claim to the middle ground of German politics during the two-day gathering held under the slogan "Party of the centre." Merkel's party has benefited from her personal popularity and from Germany's continuing economic boom. A recent poll put support for the CDU and its Bavarian sister, the Christian Social Union (CSU), at 40 per cent. By contrast, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) is languishing on 26 per cent, drawing little benefit from its role as the junior partner in Merkel's "grand coalition." Another survey published on Saturday showed 57 per cent against the coalition being returned to power after the next elections scheduled for autumn 2009. The chancellor's aim at the congress is to bind in all the tendencies in her broad-church conservative party. A "Society of Opportunity" is the phrase she used last year to launch a debate on the party's vision. Analysts said the Hanover congress will restate core CDU values and policies. Among them is that a pledge to increase childcare facilities for working families be matched by increased funding for families that choose to keep their small children at home. The CDU's rejection of full membership in the European Union for Turkey is to be clearly restated. Merkel has repeatedly emphasized her preference for a "privileged partnership" for Turkey instead. CDU policy is also to integrate immigrants into the "predominant German culture," rather than to embrace multiculturalism. While reaffirming old policies and making a bid for the centre ground, the party is also keen to put clear water between itself and its coalition partner. By shifting to the left at its congress in Hamburg a month ago, the SPD may have made things easier for its traditional rival ahead of the 2009 elections. While the SPD seeks to claw back support lost to the Left Party, the CDU has seen its chance as "the only large party of the centre," as one member put it. Merkel has a precarious balancing act to perform: how to keep the unwieldy grand coalition together until 2009 while also staking out a clear CDU position.
