German election leaves parties in bitter battle for the reins of power
29th Sep 2005, 23:45 GMT
Germany's main parties are locked in an acrimonious row over who should become Chancellor after an inconclusive election in which no political grouping secured a big enough majority to form the government. With the prospect of weeks of political paralysis ahead, both Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Social Democrats claimed an indisputable right to provide Germany's next Chancellor to lead a still undecided coalition government.