Germanys Social Democrats (SPD) said their conservative coalition partners risk jeopardising German industry if they fail to help carmaker Opel, in an attack that may set the tone for this years federal election.
The SPD and Chancellor Angela Merkels conservatives have wasted no opportunity to stake out their positions on Opel since its US parent General Motors last week submitted a rescue plan for the struggling firm, which employs around 25,000 in Germany.
Conservative Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble this week said Opel had to consider the option of insolvency, prompting a stiff rebuke from SPD Chairman Franz Muentefering on Sunday.
"I think (Schaeuble) has opened up a very dangerous path," Muentefering told Reuters television at the sidelines of an SPD rally in the eastern city of Gera. "We have to avoid looking for arguments that mean we dont have to help Opel."
"The chancellor has added to this situation by saying no companies are systemically (relevant). Thats not the case. Our well-being is based on manufacturing in Germany. We wouldnt recover those jobs and whats behind them any time soon."
Schaeuble has been backed up by other conservatives like Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. Merkel has told party members Opel is not systemically crucial to the economy.
The SPD have maintained an uneasy coalition with the conservatives since 2005, and the two sides are now increasingly focusing attention on the federal vote in September. Uwe Andersen, a political scientist at the University of Bochum, said with the SPD well behind conservatives in polls and exposed on the left to the more radical Left Party, Opel would likely be a recurring theme on the campaign trail.
"Itll be very hard for the SPD to resist the temptation of using Opel to attack the conservatives or as a way of trying to stop further voter losses to the Left Party," he said. GM Europes plan foresees partly spinning off Opel, and it said the independent unit would need some 3.3 billion euros ($4.17 billion) in state aid. The government has said it may provide help if GM can come up with an improved plan for Opel.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who will lead the SPDs challenge against Merkel in the election, has branded Schaeuble "irresponsible" for bringing up potential insolvency.
Given that German unemployment is likely to rise markedly in the run-up to the vote - Germany is expected to suffer its worst post-war recession this year - even conservatives could come under pressure to help Opel, said Andersen at Bochum. To do so without ensuring the company had a future in its own right would be fatal as it would set a precedent the state could never live up to, he added. So far opinion suggested Opel would struggle to survive as an independent firm, he said.
"The politicians have to be very careful they dont just become a lobby for Opel and its employees, because if they do, the flood gates will be open for good," Andersen said. If Opel cannot be saved, it will likely prompt the SPD and conservatives to pin the blame on each other, he added.
The SPD would then accuse Merkel of not doing enough to help Opel, while her conservatives would probably argue their rivals had put Germanys postwar economic model at risk and threatened to saddle the state with a mountain of debt, Andersen said. "If that happens, Im not sure how the electorate will respond," he said. "It could get ugly."
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