Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and challenger Angela Merkel both claimed the right to head Germany's next government Sunday after a close election result left both candidates lacking enough votes for their desired coalitions, dpa reported. Schroeder stated his intention to stay on as leader even though his Social Democrats (SPD) emerged in second place in the closely fought election which his SPD-Greens government lose its majority. "Nobody aside from me is capable of setting up a stable government," said a confident-looking Schroeder to cheers from his SPD. Speaking only minutes earlier, conservative Angela Merkel, the candidate of the Christian Democratic alliance (CDU/CSU), said it was her task to form a government. "We ... have been given the mandate," said Merkel, adding: "The strongest party puts up the chancellor." Germany now faces a game of coalition poker and it may take weeks to determine who takes the helm of Europe's biggest economy. If no agreement can be brokered, some analysts predict new elections may be needed. --more 2345 Local Time 2045 GMT
