Schroeder and rival neck-and-neck

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.

Three exit polls differed on which of the two main parties – Schroeder’s Social Democrats and two Christian Democratic parties led by Stoiber – was ahead.

Exit polls by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen for ZDF public television and Forsa for private television showed the Social Democrats and Christian Democrats even on 38%.

However, infratest-dimap showed Stoiber’s team with 39% to Schroeder’s 37%. The results fell within the margin of error.

The Green party, which has been in coalition with the Social Democrats for the last four years, was polling at about 9%. The liberal Free Democrats were running at around 7%.