Stoiber ,60,weisshaarig und seit 30 Jahren mit der selben Frau verheiratet,Schröder 58 und viermal verheiratet erscheint jugendlicher mit vollem braunem Haar.Manche haben gesagt,Schröder habe mehr zu verlieren,weil Stoiber,berühmt unbeholfen vor der Kamera sich nur ein wenig verbessern muss..die beiden beschuldigten sich gegenseitig der Unwahrheit und unterbrachen sich wiederholt während der Debatte.Stoiber,der eine leichte Bräune auf dem Sonnenbett zuhause erworben hat...Schröder wird als einer der telegensten Politiker angesehen,die Deutschland je hatte.Er spricht ruhig und eloquent in kurzen einfachen Sätzen,oft ganz geistreich,was besonders selten ist unter deutschen Politikern.
Schroeder Faces Rival in Debate on German T.V.
By REUTERS
Filed at 3:53 p.m. ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder quarreled with his media-shy rival Edmund Stoiber in Germany's first U.S.-style TV election debate Sunday, hoping for a verbal knockout to improve his chances of re-election in September.
The two accused each other of telling untruths and repeatedly interrupted one another in the debate, billed as the highlight of what has been a dull election campaign so far.
Stoiber, sporting a light tan acquired on a sun bed he has at home, raised his voice as he attacked Schroeder's economic record, blaming him for the ``national disaster'' of high unemployment and accusing him of ``irresponsible'' foreign policy.
Pollsters say the debate is unlikely to determine the outcome of the election campaign unless one of the candidates performs so abysmally that he makes himself unelectable.
In fact, some have said Schroeder has more to lose because he has to live up to his own high standards of showmanship, while Stoiber, famously awkward on camera, only needs to improve slightly on past form for the contest to be a draw.
But Schroeder is on a roll at present after his Social Democrats made a dramatic comeback in opinion polls last week because of his strong leadership during this month's chronic flooding in eastern and southern Germany.
Stoiber's stridency contrasted with Schroeder's studied calm, and the chancellor occasionally smiled disdainfully.
``Mr. Chancellor, you made a disastrous mistake in your tax reform which is now having dramatic effects. People today are worse off than they were when you took office four years ago,'' Stoiber said, looking across at Schroeder.
``You accuse me of reading too many files, but you should read them more -- then you wouldn't make mistakes.''
Schroeder retorted that Stoiber was speaking nonsense.
The chancellor got off to an uncharacteristically uncertain start, stumbling over his words in an opening statement, but then hit his stride as he adopted his calm, assured tone.
``I think we have proven in the last four years with the reforms we've introduced that we deserve the confidence of the voters,'' he said.
The debate was a unequal contest between two men vastly different in appearance and background, even though their policies are startlingly similar, with a focus on the man in the street and pledges to cut back the privileges of big business.
Stoiber, 60, white-haired and stern, hails from a comfortable background and has been married to the same woman for three decades.
State premier in Bavaria, he displays none of the earthy joviality associated with his home state, and seems more like a strict Prussian.
He is also know for his uncertain performances on camera.
In one chat show in January Stoiber mixed up the name of the interviewer, forgot the name of the top industrialist he was talking about and came up with sentences so complex one satirist offered cash to anyone who could explain what he was talking about.
Schroeder, 58 and married four times, appears more youthful with full brown hair -- and sued a news agency earlier this year for suggesting he dyed it.
He often refers to his rise from a poor, underprivileged background in a rural town in northern Germany. His mother once had to take on five cleaning jobs at the same time to feed the family.
Schroeder is regarded as one of the most media-savvy, telegenic politicians Germany has ever had. He speaks calmly and eloquently in short, simple sentences, often displaying a flash of wit -- particularly unusual in German politicians.
The two networks broadcasting the debate said they expected nearly 70 percent of prime-time television viewers to tune in.
Schroeder Faces Rival in Debate on German T.V.
By REUTERS
Filed at 3:53 p.m. ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder quarreled with his media-shy rival Edmund Stoiber in Germany's first U.S.-style TV election debate Sunday, hoping for a verbal knockout to improve his chances of re-election in September.
The two accused each other of telling untruths and repeatedly interrupted one another in the debate, billed as the highlight of what has been a dull election campaign so far.
Stoiber, sporting a light tan acquired on a sun bed he has at home, raised his voice as he attacked Schroeder's economic record, blaming him for the ``national disaster'' of high unemployment and accusing him of ``irresponsible'' foreign policy.
Pollsters say the debate is unlikely to determine the outcome of the election campaign unless one of the candidates performs so abysmally that he makes himself unelectable.
In fact, some have said Schroeder has more to lose because he has to live up to his own high standards of showmanship, while Stoiber, famously awkward on camera, only needs to improve slightly on past form for the contest to be a draw.
But Schroeder is on a roll at present after his Social Democrats made a dramatic comeback in opinion polls last week because of his strong leadership during this month's chronic flooding in eastern and southern Germany.
Stoiber's stridency contrasted with Schroeder's studied calm, and the chancellor occasionally smiled disdainfully.
``Mr. Chancellor, you made a disastrous mistake in your tax reform which is now having dramatic effects. People today are worse off than they were when you took office four years ago,'' Stoiber said, looking across at Schroeder.
``You accuse me of reading too many files, but you should read them more -- then you wouldn't make mistakes.''
Schroeder retorted that Stoiber was speaking nonsense.
The chancellor got off to an uncharacteristically uncertain start, stumbling over his words in an opening statement, but then hit his stride as he adopted his calm, assured tone.
``I think we have proven in the last four years with the reforms we've introduced that we deserve the confidence of the voters,'' he said.
The debate was a unequal contest between two men vastly different in appearance and background, even though their policies are startlingly similar, with a focus on the man in the street and pledges to cut back the privileges of big business.
Stoiber, 60, white-haired and stern, hails from a comfortable background and has been married to the same woman for three decades.
State premier in Bavaria, he displays none of the earthy joviality associated with his home state, and seems more like a strict Prussian.
He is also know for his uncertain performances on camera.
In one chat show in January Stoiber mixed up the name of the interviewer, forgot the name of the top industrialist he was talking about and came up with sentences so complex one satirist offered cash to anyone who could explain what he was talking about.
Schroeder, 58 and married four times, appears more youthful with full brown hair -- and sued a news agency earlier this year for suggesting he dyed it.
He often refers to his rise from a poor, underprivileged background in a rural town in northern Germany. His mother once had to take on five cleaning jobs at the same time to feed the family.
Schroeder is regarded as one of the most media-savvy, telegenic politicians Germany has ever had. He speaks calmly and eloquently in short, simple sentences, often displaying a flash of wit -- particularly unusual in German politicians.
The two networks broadcasting the debate said they expected nearly 70 percent of prime-time television viewers to tune in.
