Europe is entering a new political epoch. The centre-left, now in
government in many EU countries, has struggled to modernize itself
and is now defining the shape of politics for the future.

Bodo Hombach's book is one of the most important early attempts
to flesh out the Third Way - moving it from being a successful
electoral project to become a governing philosophy. Hombach, one of
Gerhard Schr"der's closest advisers, who was Minister of State in
the Chancellor's office, is a colourful and controversial figure.
He has been described as the 'German Peter Mandelson' because he
was the architect of Schr"der's election victory in 1997, which
brought the Social Democrats to power after a decade and a half in
opposition. His book, a bestseller in Germany, is the clearest
definition of the popular 'Die Neue Mitte' project on which
Schröder was elected, and on which the German voters will
judge the government. It is striking in its bold rejection of many
of the left's traditional approaches - the confrontational
traditions of employers versus workers, the private sector versus
the public sector, free market forces versus state direction - and
this explains why Hombach and his book have been at the centre of
the fierce debate about the soul and the future direction of social
democracy.

Professor Anthony Giddens and Mark Leonard, in the preface and
introduction, put the book in the context of the global debate
about the development of the Third Way, and also draw comparisons
with events in the United Kingdom.

Hombach's book is destined to become a key text on the future of
European social democracy, of interest to political activists,
policy-makers and students of politics.