"TURKEY: GERMANY'S EARLY ELECTION SETS OFF ALARM BELLS IN ANKARAIstanbul, 27 May (AKI) - German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's decision to call an early election scheduled for September after his Social Democrat Party (SPD) crushing defeat in regional elections this week has alarmed those in Turkey who are hoping to see their country join the European Union. On Friday, Schroeder, a staunch supporter of Ankara's EU bid, for the first time fell behind the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader and candidate to the chancellorship, Angela Merkel, in an opinion poll commissioned by the newsmagazine, Der Spiegel.
Some 50 percent of those surveyed named Merkel as their choice for chancellor, while 44 percent said they preferred Schroeder. "
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