German President Horst Koehler announced later Thursday that he dissolved the parliament and approved an early election called by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Sept. 18.

His announcement came just one day before Friday, the deadline for him to make a decision after mulling for three weeks over whether to approve the chancellor's call since Schroeder intentionally lost a vote-of-confidence in the Bundestag on July 1.

Koehler's decision was by no means surprising under the current circumstances.

First, Schroeder well justified his call for early elections in the Bundestag before the confidence vote in his government took place.

Under the German Constitution, a chancellor can only call for new elections if facing a serious government crisis.

Schroeder cited a lack of legitimation for his reform policies and conflict within his Social Democratic Party (SPD) as the reasons for seeking new elections.

He said, "If we are to continue with this agenda, legitimation through new elections is needed." Left-wingers in the SPD are opposed to his economic reforms.

He noted that the political foundation for his SPD and its junior partner of the Greens to carry on economic reforms was shaken after the SPD suffered a humiliating defeat in May in the crucial state election of stronghold North Rhine-Westphalia.

The defeat made the ruling SPD/Green alliance lose majority in the Bundesrat, the upper house of the parliament.

As a result, it was hard for the government to implement any policies because of the majority-holding opposition's impediment.

Secondly, Schroeder would not step down, as the major opposition Christian Democratic Union hoped, even if Koehler rejected his call for a new poll.

SPD Chairman Franz Muentefering said the other day Schroeder would remain as chancellor until 2006 when the next election is due.

For the third reason, an overwhelming majority of the German population prefer an early poll as the country is facing a dire economic prospect and near-record high jobless rate of 11 percent.

A survey released on Sunday showed that 75 percent of the population was in favor of early elections, with only 18 percent against it.

Mindful of the "giant tasks" such as high unemployment and huge budget deficits, and the loss of the confidence vote in parliament, Koehler said that Schroeder "sees no longer steady and reliable basis for his policy."

"In this serious situation, our country needs a government that can pursue its goals with steadiness and vigor," he added.

But the measure is facing a last hurdle as two members of parliament claimed they would bring a legal case to the Federal Constitutional Court against Koehler's decision.

Some constitution experts had spent the last few weeks debating whether it was legal for Schroeder to use the constitutional clause as an instrument to seek a new mandate for his government.

To achieve a no-confidence result, Schroeder mobilized his own party members to abstain from voting on July 1.

But court experts say it is less likely that the process for the early election would be ceased.

(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2005)