CONSERVATIVE challenger Angela Merkel claimed a mandate to form Germany’s next government - but an exuberant chancellor Gerhard Schroeder refused to concede defeat after his party did better than expected in yesterday’s election and insisted that he should lead the next administration.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder launched his election campaign today, with an immediate attempt to exploit the conservative opposition’s infighting, to help build on his beleaguered party’s recent rise in opinion polls.

Germany’s conservative opposition was today set to nominate Angela Merkel, a Protestant minister's daughter from the former East Germany, as its challenger to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, giving her the chance to become the country’s first female leader.

The man suspected of murdering the heir to a Germany banking dynasty led a church youth group and headed a fan club of Frankfurt’s football team that the 11-year-old victim passionately supported, investigators said Wednesday.

Green is today Gerhard Schroeder’s favourite colour after the environmental party kept his Social Democrats in power in Germany’s closest postwar election.

The outcome of Germany's election is still not known as Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his conservative challenger Edmund Stoiber ran neck-and-neck tonight in one of the country's closest post-war elections.

GERMAN Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his conservative challenger Edmund Stoiber ran neck-and-neck last night in one of Germany’ closest post-war elections.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his conservative challenger Edmund Stoiber were running neck-and-neck today in one of the country’s closest post-war elections.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was today seeking a second term in national elections dominated by tensions with the US over Iraq and a minister’s comparison of President George W Bush with Adolf Hitler.

Germany’s tightly-fought election campaign drew to a rancorous close today under the shadow of mounting tensions with Washington over an oblique comparison between the US president and Adolf Hitler reportedly made by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s justice minister.

Germany’s general election next month is now too close to call, two polls showed today.

THE European Investment Bank (EIB) said yesterday it would offer water-logged countries in central Europe millions in loans for repairing flood damage.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s wife today waded into an MPs air miles row, accusing Germany’s most popular newspaper of targeting the government ahead of next month’s general election.