Germans urged to be more fruitful

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BERLIN -- Ursula von der Leyen, a medical doctor and the mother of seven, wants Germans to have more babies.

Since taking the family affairs portfolio in Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet, she has been making proposals that have put the family high on Germany's political agenda.

Her calls for free child care and extensive tax breaks for families with small children have put the spotlight on Germany's low birthrate.

The Federal Statistics Office said yesterday that Germany's population fell for a third straight year in 2005, adding impetus to the new minister's determination to halt the decline by encouraging families to have more children.

The data show the number of Germans has fallen by 3.2 million in the past 33 years, a decline masked until recently by the flow of immigrants.

In a country where large families are now seen as an oddity -- partly in reaction to the Nazis' pressure to procreate -- Mrs. von der Leyen's costly pro-family plans have dominated the headlines this year.

Determined to overhaul Germany's child-care system and end the frosty attitude toward families, Mrs. von der Leyen sparked a debate by urging states and communities to slash or even eliminate preschool-care charges that far exceed university fees.

"I am in the middle of a storm now, but you can be sure I will stay the course," she said at a recent press conference.

Mrs. Merkel's Christian Democrats and their Social Democrat partners are now competing for votes by offering more help for families in the run-up to three state elections in the spring.

The government pledged in November to expand preschool care in the next four years for children age 3 and under, to give parents with new babies generous financial aid to stay at home for one year, and to give tax breaks for day-care costs.