Schroeder tops charts

The chancellor is Germany latest pop sensation

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is set to augment political successes with pop stardom, as a song containing his remarks climbs to the top of the national music charts.

Mr Schroeder has promised to donate all royalties for the single, expected to be around $700,000, to a children's charity his wife works for.

His success stems from off-the-cuff remarks made on a tour of eastern Germany in the summer, when he joked that he would go on strike if no one gave him a beer.

Mr Schroeder with the instrument of his success

Well-known comedian Stefan Raab turned the remarks, which were recorded by journalists, into a refrain for a drinking song.

"Hol mir mal'ne Flasche Bier" ("Get me a beer") has so far sold 360,000 copies, outselling more conventional acts like Madonna and Britney Spears.

'Very amused'

"This is riches on paper, but anything earned goes to charity," The Times quoted Mr Schroeder's spokesman as saying.

"The Chancellor is very amused by the record," he added.

The song was performed on Raab's television show before becoming a hit on the internet.

Now it is in the shops as a single.

Double success

Mr Schroeder's success in the charts seems to mirror his current political popularity.

Divisions in his ruling coalition, election defeats and difficulties over welfare budget cuts seemed to bode ill for his government last year.

But these difficulties have been overshadowed in recent months by a party funding scandal which has damaged the opposition Christian Democratic Union and its former leader Helmut Kohl.

Mr Raab is known for his performance in this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

His spoof track Wadde Hadde Dudde Da? (What Do You Have There?) came fifth in the competition.