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Schröder gives up German chancellorship ambitions, makes way for Merkel

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Monday, October 10, 2005

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Germany
German federal elections 2005
Prelude
Election Day
Aftermath
Background
Gerhard Schröder

Social Democrat Gerhard Schröder has given up his ambition to be chancellor in a future government and cleared the way for the current opposition leader, Christian Democrat Angela Merkel, to become the first female chancellor in the history of Germany, officials for both parties confirmed.

Both Schröder and Merkel previously insisted that they become head of government, making chancellorship the all deciding issue whether to form a coalition. Now Schröder is reportedly resigning from politics, but while he may not be in the next government, his withdrawal comes at a high price for the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU).

The Social Democrats (SPD) will take eight minister posts, against six for the CDU/CSU. But who will occupy these posts has yet to be determined. Beside various rumors in Berlin, it has only been confirmed so far that the current Bavarian governor Edmund Stoiber will take over as minister for economy and technology. The agreement, negotiated between Schröder, Merkel, Stoiber, and SPD chair Franz Müntefering, has already been approved by both parties' leadership committees.

Official negotiations for all the details of the future coalition are scheduled to begin next Monday and are expected to last until at least November 12.

The early federal election on September 18 produced an effective stalemate as both CDU/CSU and the SPD got approximately the same votes, with CDU/CSU having a narrow lead of 4 seats in the Bundestag. Neither party was able to form a coalition with their preferred partner, FDP and the Greens, respectively, forcing them to enter talks to form a grand coalition.

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  This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

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Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

The text of this article is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License
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