BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : MAY 1, 2000 ISSUE
INTERNATIONAL -- EUROPEAN COVER STORY The Path to Reform SEPTEMBER, 1998 Schroder unseats Kohl on a promise to cut unemployment. His government immediately rolls back Kohl's modest business-friendly reforms, such as limits on sick pay. MARCH, 1999 Left-wing Finance Minister Lafontaine resigns after clashing with Schroder, leaving behind what Goldman Sachs calls ''a wall of distrust'' among the business community. JULY, 1999 Approval rating for Schroder's Social Democratic Party sinks to 33%, its lowest point since the national election. A string of local election defeats follows. NOVEMBER, 1999 Schroder pressures Deutsche Bank CEO Breuer to support rescue of builder Philipp Holzmann. Breuer asks him to end tax that prevented Deutsche Bank from selling its Holzmann stake years earlier. DECEMBER, 1999 Schroder and Finance Minister Eichel unveil income tax cuts that exceed expectations. They also surprise business by proposing end of capital-gains tax that stops banks from selling unwanted holdings. MARCH, 2000 As the economy gathers steam, support for Schroder's party hits 43%, its highest since the '98 elections. Germany's largest business lobby snubs its traditional conservative allies and moves closer to Schroder. DATA: Business Week, FORSA INSTITUTE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Gerhard Schroder: The Accidental Reformer (int'l edition) EUROPEAN COVER IMAGE: The Accidental Reformer TABLE: The Path to Reform TABLE: Schroder's Agenda ONLINE ORIGINAL: Hans Eichel: ``It's Not a Government of the Status Quo INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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