Two days after Schroeder announced his intention to hold an early election, commentators are attempting to assess what it all means. Is this the end of the SPD-Green Party ruling coalition? Why has Schroeder called the election early? Will the next government up the pace of social reform to Warp factor Hartz XV? While most of the electorate would rather reasonably assume that radical change is a rare thing in Germany, the press is awash with the possibilities of exciting scenarios of political Goetterdaemmerung.

The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung deplores the fact that both the governing SPD-Green coalition and the opposition Christian Union are barely distinguishable. "The Union welcomes the new election -- but as yet has no recognizable program." The middle of the political spectrum has become overcrowded. The paper goes on to list the recent social reforms the SPD has introduced, but which could easily have originated from the center-right CDU/CSU. "The only thing that differentiates the governing coalition from the opposition is the Green Party's input, such as giving up atomic power, use of renewable energy sources, or the introduction of same-sex marriages and dual citizenship."

The paper predicts that, because there is no party which offers an alternative choice to the status quo, the current crisis will lead to political change. "The result could be the first significant constitutional reform since 1968, when a grand coalition was in government." The commentators conclude by saying that if the Union-Liberal coalition forms the next government, then the result will be even more extreme social reforms. "There will only be possibilities for the future, if the new political center is banished. The up-coming election, which offers no alternatives, should be the last of its kind. For this reason alone, it is historic."

The right-leaning Die Welt compares Sunday night to a show-down in a Western movie. The paper says that although the chancellor's motives are unclear in calling for an early election, the result is what counts. "Gerhard Schroeder has, with statesman-like decisiveness, cleared the way for an election in which people will vote for a general direction rather than on specific issue," going on to say that that Schroeder has set a signal which will clarify the battle-lines. "What will happen to Social Democracy is unclear. The real question is whether the CDU is willing and able to break out of the safety of silence and finally put its cards on the table."

The paper continues by saying that it calls for more competition and a freer market economy. "Taxes and deduction must be lowered, and freedom and responsibility strengthened ... we have to rid ourselves of the bitter, anti-bourgeois culture which brings everyone down to the lowest common denominator, and for years has forced talent and wealth out of the country." The commentator concludes by asking whether the CDU has the courage and the ideas to rise to this challenge.

The center-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung opens its front-page commentary with the traditional expression favored by officers in the military: "Better to make the wrong decision than none at all," saying that although Gerhard Schroeder is himself in no way an officer, he has stuck to this rule by moving the elections forward a year. "The (opposition) Union and FDP were caught on the hop by Schroeder's decision. But by Monday they had already re-aligned the boundaries. Angela Merkel has more or less declared her candidacy to run as chancellor."

The paper goes on to say that on a national level the situation is similar to that of North-Rhine Westphalia before the local elections. "The conservatives are profiting from the fact that the governing coalition is un-liked. However to lead them in the electoral race, they have selected a politician who is not even respected in her own ranks. Let alone actually liked." As for Westerwelle, the leader of the Liberal party, the commentator refers to him as the political residue left over from the New Economy bubble. "The philosophy of Westerwelle's heyday was to have fun, earn cash and look down at those who don't manage it quite as well."