Merkel's SPD rival turns to education after poll setbacks
By REUTERS
Chancellor Angela Merkel's Social Democrat (SPD) rival promised on Thursday to raise spending on education in Germany to above the OECD average in a bid to regain momentum before September's national election.Martin Schulz urgently needs to win back voters after a disastrous election loss on Sunday in Germany's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the SPD's third defeat this year and one he called a blow to the party and him personally.In a speech in a library in the Berlin district of Neukoelln where 14 percent of pupils leave school with no qualifications, Schulz set out one of his most concrete proposals since being chosen as leader in January.
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