Conservative leader Angela Merkel was set to become Germany's first female chancellor under a power-sharing agreement that would end Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder's seven years in office, Social Democratic officials said Monday. But the Social Democrats extracted a high price for Schroeder backing down: his party would get eight seats in the Cabinet, compared to six for Merkel's group, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The deal must be approved by the parties and parliament, The Associated Press reported.
