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German conservatives make election pledge of full employment

German conservatives make election pledge of full employment

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives promised on Monday an end to unemployment, more police, new homes and increased support for families in their program for September's national election, when she will seek a fourth term in office.

With Germany's economy - Europe's largest - enjoying robust growth, Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), are able to assure voters they will not raise taxes and will invest more.
The allies want to achieve full employment, which they define as a jobless rate of less than 3 percent, by 2025 - compared to 5.5 percent now. Those "Economic Miracle" levels of joblessness have not been seen in Germany since the mid-1970s.
"We think we can do this," Merkel told a news conference with CSU leader Horst Seehofer to present the program, which the conservatives gave the title 'Prosperity and Security for All'.

(Writing by Paul Carrel, editing by Emma Thomasson)