Many German voters still unsure

Angela Merkel is fighting hard to maintain her poll lead

Opinion polls in Germany suggest nearly a third of the electorate has yet to make up its mind about which party to support in Sunday's election.

The conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) are still ahead in the polls, but a hung parliament is looking likely.

The CDU and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats (SPD) have been raising scares about each other's economic policies.

Germany's high unemployment has overshadowed the campaign.

Rival ideas on how to revive the German economy and cope with the challenge of global competition have been the most important issues.

Negative campaigning

The BBC's William Horsley in Berlin says stridently negative campaigning has characterised the run-up to Sunday's vote.

CDU leader Angela Merkel has raised a "red scare", telling voters that if the result is close the SPD would break its word and try to stay in power with support from the new radical Left party, including former communists in the east.

MAKE-UP OF BUNDESTAG 1. Social Democrats (SPD): 249 2. Christian Democrats/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU): 247 3. Greens: 55 4. Free Democrats (FDP): 47 5. Others: 3

Joschka Fischer, leader of the Greens - Mr Schroeder's coalition partners - hit back, calling the CDU blind and irresponsible for saying they would block Turkey's bid for full membership in the European Union.

Each day Mr Schroeder attacks Mrs Merkel's candidate for finance minister, economics professor Paul Kirchhof, saying his pet idea of a flat 25% rate of income tax would make the Germans into guinea-pigs of an economic theory and bring social conflict.

The Christian Democrats say the flat tax is not part of their policy, but they would cut income tax rates for most households.

And they have gone on the attack, claiming the present government has hidden plans for swingeing welfare cuts to fill a big hole in public finances, our correspondent reports.

For months German voters have shown a strong appetite for a change of government. The CDU promised to boost jobs and growth through free market reforms.

But the desire for change has wavered as the vote draws near.

Our correspondent says Mr Schroeder is playing on the Germans' aversion to risk, and the result still seems to rest on a knife-edge.

EU commissioner's view

Meanwhile, the EU's competition commissioner Neelie Kroes has publicly backed Mrs Merkel to become German chancellor.

"The election of this excellent politician would be wonderful for the whole of Europe," Mrs Kroes said in an opinion piece published in the Dutch daily Trouw.

She said Germany suffered from bureaucratic structures and "women have the tendency to break through this blockade through direct contacts".

EU spokesman Jonathan Todd in Brussels said Mrs Kroes was expressing a personal view and her comments did not reflect the position of the European Commission.

---

Are you planning to vote in Sunday's election? Who are you planning to vote for? What are the main issues that concern you? Send us your views using the form below.