The rising waters in Germany's flood-swollen rivers have buoyed approval ratings for Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his Social Democratic Party, with only one month remaining before general elections.

As several opinion polls indicated Friday, Schroeder's party has made a striking comeback, cutting the once-comfortable lead of the conservatives and making the election campaign a competitive race again.

In what experts called the biggest single-week swing recorded in years, the Social Democrats managed to pull nearly even with the conservative parties, narrowing a deficit that once was between 5 and 7 percentage points.

According to the Electoral Research Group, Schroeder's center-left party--which has governed in coalition with the environmentalist Green Party since 1998--stands at 38 percent, while Edmund Stoiber's alliance of Christian Democrats and the Christian Social Union has fallen to 39 percent.

In another poll conducted by Emnid, Schroeder's party jumped 2 points to 36 percent while the conservatives fell to 39 percent.

"Our starting position is a decent one," SPD Secretary General Franz Muentefering said Friday. Four weeks before the Sept. 22 election, Schroeder has benefited from his calm management and sure-handed leadership during the recent flooding in Germany, the worst the country has faced in centuries.

In another poll, 63 percent of those asked approved of the Social Democratic government's effort to help areas devastated by the floods in eastern Germany and its quick decision to raise billions of dollars for reconstruction.

Visiting the areas suffering most from the flood, walking around in waders and talking to people left homeless by the rising waters, Schroeder won considerable praise. At the same time, Bavarian state Premier Stoiber was caught off guard, vacationing when the flooding began.

Even thereafter he failed to match the telegenic Schroeder in demonstrating his sympathy with the victims and appealing to the country's unity.

Recent days prove that "German people stay united in hard times," the chancellor said Friday before a crowd of 15,000 in Berlin as he launched a campaign tour.

Political analysts also believe Schroeder recently profited from his firm opposition to a possible attack on Iraq. Schroeder has said that Germany would not join the Bush administration "for an adventure" to drive Saddam Hussein from power.

"As long as we, the Social Democrats, are in charge, there will be no contemplation of military action. Not with us," Schroeder told voters Friday.

A majority of Germans oppose a strike against Iraq.

Reversal of fortune

Looking like the sure winner for several months, Stoiber now sees his prospects taking a sudden turn for the worse.

"The dimensions of this shift are quite surprising," said Peter Loesche, a professor of political science at the University of Goettingen. "But I think once the floodwaters disappear the old ghosts of high unemployment that have haunted Schroeder will return."

Schroeder failed to keep his promise in the 1998 campaign to reduce the number of unemployed below 3.5 million. Otherwise, he said at the time, he did not deserve to be re-elected.

With the unemployment total still above 4 million and with weak economic growth, it appeared unlikely that Schroeder's personal popularity, which has always been high, would be enough to help pull out another victory for his party.

Floods bring tide shift

But the floods apparently have changed that as well, with the chancellor's personal approval rating climbing over the past week. When people were asked who they would favor if they could vote directly for chancellor, Schroeder emerged with a 55-39 advantage over Stoiber.

The recent polls also showed that Schroeder's junior coalition partner, the Greens, were steady at 7 percent while the liberal Free Democrats, Stoiber's favored coalition partner, remained at 9 percent. Meanwhile, the post-communist Party of Democratic Socialism failed to reach the 5 percent necessary to remain in parliament.

For the first time both candidates for chancellor will battle in two nationally televised debates, modeled on the U.S. presidential debates. The first, Sunday night, is a much anticipated event, and analysts expect Schroeder to emerge the winner.

Sources close to Stoiber said the challenger has hired a television professional as a coach. In appearances on political talk shows, the candidate comes across as nervous and unfocused.