THEY might maintain separate homes more than 150 miles apart, but Doris Schröder-Köpf, Germany’s first lady, is emerging as her husband’s most influential adviser as he struggles with plunging poll ratings and rumours of a palace coup.

Gerhard Schröder, the chancellor, has long sought advice from his fourth wife, a former political journalist, despite her decision to bring up her daughter from a previous marriage at their home in Hanover.

Yet to the dismay of many in his Social Democrat-led coalition, Schröder appears increasingly dependent on her since his narrow re-election in September, telephoning her up to five times a day.

“Schröder has changed a lot and the Doris factor has become very important. He does not trust many people any more,” said Kurt Kister, political correspondent of the influential Süddeutsche Zeitung and a close observer of the chancellor.

Sources said Schröder-Köpf, 39, was behind her husband’s decision last week to force a showdown with allies angry at his handling of spending cuts and tax rises needed to fill a gaping hole in the budget. “If anyone thinks he can do it better, then let him get on with it,” Schröder was said to have told his party’s ruling executive.

She has repeatedly leapt to her husband’s defence, attacking a comedian who had a number one hit with a pop song parodying his tax policies as “a parasite”. She dismissed Oskar Lafontaine, the former finance minister, as “not all there” for likening Schröder’s economic policies to those in the 1920s that helped prepare the way for Hitler’s rise to power.

Schröder-Köpf’s influence may, however, be restrained by Wolfgang Clement, the “superminister” in charge of the economics and labour ministries.

Plans that the former leader of North Rhine-Westphalia is due to present in the next few weeks to revive growth and cut unemployment, now standing at more than 4m, are regarded as crucial to the government’s survival.

Clement is believed to be on particularly frosty terms with Schröder-Köpf.

Jürgen Hogrefe, Schröder’s biographer, who has known him for 20 years, predicts blood on the carpet if the chancellor is forced to choose between them.

“At present, Clement has no wish to be chancellor,” he said. “But if Doris turns Schröder against him for some reason then he might feel that, like Brutus, he has a duty to bring the Schröder era to an end.”

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