German conservative leader Angela Merkel was re-elected leader of her parliamentary group yesterday, receiving the support of 98.6 percent of Christian Democrat (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) members, party sources said.

The level of support is above what Merkel received in past years. She was elected head of the CDU/CSU Bundestag group in 2002 with 92.2 percent support and again in 2003 with a 93.72 percent score.

Wounded by her failure to get a clear majority in stalemated weekend elections, Merkel fought yesterday to keep alive party support for her ambition to be Germany's first woman chancellor.

Unable to form a government with her preferred partners the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), Merkel faces weeks of tough coalition negotiations with the leaders of other major parties.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder reportedly urged a coup against his opponent, offering to drop out of the running to rule Germany but only if Merkel did the same.

"There has never been a chancellor who has sacrificed himself in order to clear the way to form a government. Schroeder would go down in the party's history as one of the greats," an unnamed leading member of Schroeder's Social Democratic Party told the top-selling Bild newspaper.

That outcome would mean that neither Merkel nor Schroeder would be chancellor.

The new leader could come from among the powerful conservative state premiers, including Bavarian leader Edmund Stoiber, or Christian Wulff, who leads the state of Lower Saxony, Bild said.

Christian Democrat sources said Merkel would start coalition talks tomorrow in separate meetings with the leaders of the Social Democrats and the small, pro-business Free Democratic Party.

Schroeder's party was also expected to launch its own negotiations to form a ruling majority this week.

Also yesterday, outgoing Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said he was giving up his leading role in Germany's Greens party, signaling the end of one of the most colourful careers in German politics.

(China Daily September 21, 2005)