Schroeder's party routed in German State Election

German voters handed Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder a fresh setback in elections in the small western state of Saarland today, reflecting public anger over his drive to cut into the country’s cherished network of social programmes.

Schroeder’s Social Democrats slumped to about 30% of the vote, down from 44.4% in the last election in 1999, according to projections by both German public television channels based on exit polls.