German election a cliffhanger to bitter end

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

Three polling agencies combining exit polls and early returns showed a slight lead for Mr. Stoiber’s two Christian Democratic parties, with about 39% of votes compared to an estimated 38% for Mr Schroeder’s Social Democrats.

The Greens, in coalition with the Social Democrats for the last four years, were polling at about 9%, which could be decisive in helping Mr Schroeder stay in power.

Early returns showed 7% for the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), likely coalition partner with Mr Stoiber’s Christian Democrats (CDU).

According to ZDF public television, the Social Democrats and Greens would win 300 seats to 297 for a combined CDU-Free Democrats coalition.

Similarly, NTV private television, using projections from the Forsa polling agency, gave 301 seats to a Social Democratic-Green coalition and 297 seats to the challengers.

However, another public TV station, ARD, projected the seat distribution at 302 for Mr Stoiber’s likely coalition and 296 for Mr Schroeder’s.

“One thing is already clear: we have won the election,” said a jubilant Mr Stoiber at his campaign headquarters.

“The CDU, the great party of the centre, is back. It is the biggest party in parliament. We will make what we can of this great result.”

The Greens were elated by the strongest showing in their 22-year history. Leader Rezzo Schlauch said his party got momentum from the Iraq debate and the popularity of foreign minister Joschka Fischer.

“We are so happy ... There was the issue of war and peace, and we have a highly competent foreign minister. It was a combination of the issues and the people in charge.”

The final days of the hotly contested race were coloured by tensions with the United States over Iraq. Mr Schroeder’s anti-war stance resonated with Germans who overwhelmingly oppose a new Mideast conflict.

Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin reportedly compared US President George W Bush to Hitler for threatening war to distract from domestic problems.

While Mr Schroeder has resisted calls to force her resignation, a government official said Mr Schroeder would not include the minister in his Cabinet if he wins re-election.

Official figures showed 42.8% of voters had cast ballots by 2 pm in this election, compared with 47% in 1998.