1. Have the main headline about your electoral program be how much you’re going to raise taxes. Particularly VAT, which practically everybody pays on practically everything.

2. Face a knock-down drag-out fight with your prospective coalition partner over #1.

3. Have the two parties that make up your Union disagree about the basic approach to health care reform.

4. Present security plans that your prospective coalition partner says had been previously rejected for good reasons.

And that’s just the first 24 hours after the presentation of your campaign program.

The CDU/CSU still leads the SPD by 20 points in the polls, and I, along with every other commentator, have to think that Schr?der is toast. You just don’t make up 20 points of ground in eight weeks. But if the CDU/CSU want to make it an interesting race, they’re off to a great start…

UPDATE: 5. Eliminate grants to support university students. (The article is an interview with the SPD minister, so grains of salt advised.)