Schröder reaches out to his party’s critics of capitalism

According to senior members of Germany's Social Democratic party, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is expected to call in June 2005 for a European initiative to promote public spending on research, set minimum social standards in companies and tighten controls on international financial flows. The move is likely to add to a growing rift within Europe between those governments that support protectionism and those that back a more liberal economic policy agenda.