BERLIN : Public Disservice

Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s government struggles to shake off a growing malaise dominated this week by Germany’s most serious public services strikes since World War II.

The Bonn government initially decided it could stand up to the powerful unions--in part because opinion polls showed there was little public sympathy for those workers demanding large pay hikes at a time the country has been hit by the staggering costs of unification. But trade union leaders have visibly gained support in the week since they launched their action.

Kohl’s interior minister, Rudolf Seiters, has promised to present a new offer later this week, but the government remains in a bind. If its offer is too low, the unions are certain to reject it. But if it is higher than the 5.4% wage increase previously rejected by Seiters as too expensive, the public will wonder why it had to suffer through the strikes in the first place.