Steinmeier, who is trying to unseat Chancellor Angela Merkel in the election, used the Social Democratic Party (SPD) congress on Sunday to attack his conservative rivals from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

"One reason they shouldn't win a majority is that the ideology that got us into this crisis is definitely not the answer to the crisis," Steinmeier told the crowd of 500 delegates in Berlin.

"I take the worries of the people seriously. I know damned well what's up," he said.

"We'll fight for the woman shop assistant and the building worker. But at the same time, we'll remain the party of the new centrism."

Steinmeier said the SPD needs to show workers what they might suffer if a centre-right alliance took over from the current grand coalition between his party and the CDU.

The SPD delegates took less then five hours to adopt a 60-page election manifesto that calls for a nationwide minimum wage of 7.50 euros, reduced taxes for low-wage earners and the introduction of a solidarity tax for the rich.

Speaker after speaker told the congress that the SPD must not be discouraged by dismal polls and the party's poor showing at last weekend's European parliamentary election.

The German vice-chancellor and foreign minister who hopes to topple Chancellor Angela Merkel, urged all SPD members to ensure victory for the Social Democrats in September's general elections.

Looking back on 2008

Steinmeier's bid for Germany's top job started so promisingly back in October 2008, when party members came together for their convention in Berlin to bury the hatchet and elect a new leader.

Franz Muenterfering was chosen as the new head and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was put forward as their candidate for chancellor.

"If you have faith, then I am ready," Steinmeier called out to the celebrating delegates.

As the convention came to a close, Steinmeier summed up what the new change of leadership would mean.

"Hope and confidence are back. This will be a day of new departures. We believe in ourselves again, which makes us strong and our opponents will recognize that."

One debacle after another

However, that confidence was soon put to the test. In January of this year, elections that should have easily been won by the SPD ended disastrously when Christian Democrat Roland Koch made a triumphant return to his post as premier of the state of Hesse.

In addition, the SPD's candidate for president, Gesine Schwan, was defeated by incumbent Horst Koehler, who was supported by the CDU and their preferred coalition partners, the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP).

Less than one month later, European elections handed the SPD its worst defeat in party history: only 20 percent of the vote.

sje/rb/bm/dpa/AP
Editor: Andreas Illmer