Quotes of the Day

Angela Merkel and Gerhard Schröder were all over the German media last week; often as the butt of political cartoons and doctored photos ridiculing their poor election showings. What Germans didn't see, though, was a clear picture of a new Chancellor. Germany's vote produced no decisive result. The leaders of the two big parties — Schröder of the Social Democrats (spd) and Merkel of the Christian Democrats (cdu) — both claimed victory, but the real winners were the smaller parties. The Left Party, made up of disaffected ex-spd members and former communists, won 54 seats in the Bundestag, leaching support from the spd. The probusiness Free Democratic Party achieved a personal best with 61 seats. The outcome left Schröder and Merkel racing to cobble together a coalition — and most Germans wondering what it all means for the country.

One interpretation is that the results are a sign of a deepening social divide between jobless and low-paid workers and young, urban professionals. "The gap between winners and losers used to be bridged by the welfare state," says Franz Walter, a political scientist at Göttingen University. "That is no longer happening. We are back in the Middle Ages, with the beggar in front of the church doors."

Whatever government emerges will have to bridge the divides. But neither Schröder nor Merkel seems well suited to unify after a campaign in which both fought so fiercely. "The chemistry is terrible at the moment," concedes Gerd Langguth, a political scientist at the University of Bonn and cdu insider. A grand coalition of the two big parties seems like the most feasible option. But for that to happen either Merkel or Schröder will have to step down, and neither seems ready. "We are the biggest parliamentary group," says Wolfgang Schäuble, foreign policy chief of the cdu. "We will choose who the Chancellor will be — and that is Mrs. Merkel."

A key spd leader, Gernot Erler, demurred: "We've said that Schröder is our Chancellor and the only one who can change this is Schröder." Walter wonders whether the best bet might be to depose both leaders: "A grand coalition needs a grayer, less divisive figure capable of mediating between the parties." Or maybe a new election that produces a clearer result.

• ANDREW PURVIS
• Germany's small parties were the big beneficiaries of this month's election