Fri May 17 By Clifford Coonan
HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has won a court bid to stop a news agency repeating a suggestion he dyes his hair in a row that has embarrassed the German leader in an election year.
A court in the northern city of Hamburg issued an injunction against the DDP news agency to stop it repeating a political consultant's suggestion -- now retracted -- that Schroeder, 58, altered the colour of his dark brown hair.
Political commentators have cast the hair-dyeing controversy as a sign of the insecurity of Schroeder, who trails opposition conservatives in opinion polls ahead of a September general election.
While Schroeder has won the battle over his hairdressing habits, analysts say the cost could be ridicule by the international media at a time when his re-election chances hinge on his charisma and media skills.
"They're splitting their sides laughing at this story internationally and it is damaging for Schroeder's image and for Germany's image," Reinhard Schlinkert, an analyst at the Infratest polling group in Bonn, said.
"I don't think it will play a decisive role in the election, it's more something that people will gossip about. Sentiment about the government is pretty bad at the moment, but I think last week's strikes play a bigger role," Schlinkert said.
Schroeder was attending a meeting of European Union and Latin American heads of state and government in Madrid and not immediately available for comment.
HAIR IS NATURAL COLOUR, BARBER SAYS
Schroeder's lawyers presented affidavits from his barber saying the chancellor's chestnut locks were their natural colour. The barber said Schroeder had some grey hairs which could not be seen from a distance.
Klaus Sedelmeier, the defence lawyer for DPP, said he could not understand the court's decision as the agency had merely repeated a third party's allegations.
"We'll appeal it all the way through the courts," he said.
Judge Andreas Buske said DDP should have done more to check the political consultant's comments before issuing the story.
Schroeder's lawyers went to court on April 12 to demand a injunction.
"We have decided to go to court because this is an election year and it could get unpleasant if this allegation is spread over and over again," Schroeder's lawyer, Michael Nesselhauf, said at the time.
The conservative opposition jumped on the affair to cast doubt on Schroeder's credibility, saying a chancellor who dyed his hair "will also dress up statistics". Some conservatives demanded Schroeder allow his hair to be analysed.
SENSITIVE ABOUT SCHROEDER'S IMAGE
Schroeder's Social Democrats are sensitive about his image in the election campaign. Spin doctors portray Schroeder as youthful compared to opposition challenger Edmund Stoiber -- a white-haired 60-year-old grandfather.
Social Democrats expressed anger on Thursday when Stern magazine ran a cover depicting a naked and paunchy Schroeder in a scene from the fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes".
The caricature showed a grim-looking Schroeder clad only in a green and red fig leaf, symbolising a coalition between his Social Democrats and the Greens, above the legend: "The naked truth -- can Schroeder still win?"
Rupert Ahrens, head of the Federation of German Public Relations Agencies, told German television the hair dye row was another example of the election campaign focusing increasingly on "extreme personalisation" rather than important issues.
An advertisement for hair treatment in German newspapers on Friday ran a picture of Schroeder with bright red hair and urged the chancellor to relax about the hair dye allegations.
"The main thing is, you've got a full head of hair, Gerhard!"
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