Rebel with a Cause

Florian Pronold is German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's worst nightmare: a telegenic 30-year-old helping to lead a popular backlash against Schröder's proposals for economic reform. What makes this dream especially bad is that Pronold isn't a member of the opposition Christian Democratic Union. He's a rising star in Schröder's own party, the Social Democrats (SPD). "We're not against Schröder personally, but we're against his political course," Pronold says. "This is not a Social Democratic policy."

Pronold is one of 12 SPD backbenchers trying to scupper Schröder's latest batch of reform proposals. While some of the opponents are long-serving party leftists like Ottmar Schreiner, 57, Pronold was only elected to the Bundestag last September. Most young men in his position are currying favor with their elders by toeing the party line in the hopes of swift advancement up the hierarchy. Not Pronold. "I think there is a problem for young people today who see things differently than in the 1970s," he says. "To stand up and say no and get into conflict is not the thing young politicians normally do." Pronold, on the other hand, seems to have the hang of it.

Pronold is saying no to reforms designed to lower nonwage labor costs, making Germany more competitive and lowering unemployment, which reached 10.7% of the work force in April. Among Schröder's proposals: shorten the length of time unemployed workers can collect jobless benefits from 32 months to 12 months, and curtail laws that prevent small businesses from laying off workers.

Pronold and his fellow rebels already have one victory under their belts. After the Chancellor announced his reform plan, Agenda 2010, party leaders said there would be no debate on the measures, which were approved at a closed-door meeting. But under pressure from the dissenters, Schröder has been forced to call a special SPD party conference on June 1 to debate the proposals. Now Pronold is using the Internet to help collect the 70,000 signatures needed to force the SPD to have a referendum of party members on the reforms.

While his methods may be very 21st century, Pronold's message sounds more like a blast from the past. In his view, the state should be investing more and the wealthy should shoulder more of the economic burden. "Schröder only takes the money away from the middle classes and gives the rich presents," he says. A lawyer by training and a member of Germany's large Verdi trade union, Pronold started his political career on a city council in a politically conservative part of Bavaria. "I learned that the only way to get things done was to stand up and fight for them," he says.

Pronold and his colleagues have so far not said how they will vote if the reform package is presented to the Bundestag unchanged. The pressure on Schröder has already forced him to make alterations in some of his proposals. Since the government only has a nine-vote majority in parliament, if just five SPD politicians switch sides, the reforms would be defeated — which could bring down the government. Schröder must be having bad dreams.

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