Schröder Says Germans Too Demanding

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder accused his fellow Germans on Friday of abusing the welfare state by taking what they can, whether or not they needed support. "In both the east and the west, there's a mentality which extends well into the middle class that you should claim state allowances wherever you can get them, even when there's an adequate income in the family," Schröder told the magazine Guter Rat. His comments follow weeks of protest about the welfare cuts that will be introduced next year as part of the government's sweeping reforms package, Agenda 2010. Among the changes, people claiming benefit will be asked to fill out a lengthy form listing their assets. Those with savings over a certain level will be inelegible for welfare. "Proof of need, which has always been a matter of course for claimants of social welfare, is unavoidable, " Schröder said.