Merkel sticks to demand for chancellor post as talks continue

CONSERVATIVE leader Angela Merkel pushed her demand to serve as Germany’s next chancellor while Gerhard Schroeder clung to his competing claim as they readied today for tough negotiations aimed at ending the country’s political crisis.

The two were to meet today for a round of summit talks along with Franz Muentefering, the chairman of Schroeder's Social Democrats, and Merkel's fellow conservative leader Edmund Stoiber.

Both sides warned that the haggling could last until Sunday before Germans know who their next leaders is.