No U-turn on reform, vows Schroeder

Schroeder admits message not getting through

German leader Gerhard Schroeder has accused voters of being "afraid of change", after his party suffered an election drubbing in Bavaria.

Mr Schroeder vowed to press ahead with a controversial reform programme, which is thought to have been at least partly to blame for the poll flop.

Support for his Social Democrats plunged nearly eight points to 19.6% in Bavaria's elections - the worst showing there since World War II.

We have no intention, nor should we, of changing anything in the course we have defined Gerhard Schroeder

The beneficiaries were the right-wing Christian Social Union, led by Edmund Stoiber, who gained nine points to take 60.7% of the votes.

Mr Schroeder, speaking in Berlin on Monday, insisted that his reforms - aimed at reinvigorating Germany's lifeless economy - were putting the country back on the path to health.

But he admitted that his party had failed to sell the package to voters.

"People are afraid of change," he said.

Stoiber hailed Bavaria result as historic

"We are in the midst of a difficult reform process. We have no intention, nor should we, of changing anything in the course we have defined," he added.

"We have to gather all forces of the entire party to push through these important and difficult reforms. Only in this way can we regain economic momentum and improve the labour market."

Voters were not yet feeling the long-term benefits, he conceded.

The reform package, which Mr Schroeder has had difficulty selling even to his own party, cover social areas including health, pensions and welfare rights.

Mr Stoiber celebrated his election success by telling cheering crowds outside CSU headquarters that it was a "sensational and epochal result" that would be remembered for months or even years.

Long year

Mr Schroeder narrowly fought off a strong national election challenge from Mr Stoiber almost exactly a year ago.

Economic gloom has continued unabated since then, with unemployment persistently above four million.

Mr Stoiber wants to challenge Mr Schroeder again in the next general election, scheduled for 2006.

The Social Democrats have already had poor poll showings this year in Lower Saxony - Mr Schroeder's home state - and in Hesse.