Election Cliffhanger Triggers Surprise in EU

Preliminary official results showed Angela Merkel's opposition conservative Christian Union alliance narrowly ahead of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Social Democrats. But just one point separates the two parties, complicating the issue of who won the election and who will form the next government.

Although Merkel's party received the most votes and therefore she should be chancellor, it's not certain with which party the CDU will form a coalition. Schröder for his part insists he should lead the next administration and extend his seven years in power.

German election "a lesson"

The unexpected hung vote has produced surprise in capitals across Europe, as political leaders look to the continent's biggest economy to see what changes are in store.

In Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's party did not want to comment, but Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said the result was "a surprise, but not as important as you might think." Fini said it meant "an uncertain political situation, with an instability that certainly isn't going to help the country."

Italian opposition leader Romano Prodi (photo, with Schröder) said the "unforeseen" outcome was "a result we were not expecting and which should be a lesson, even for us."

"Germany is on the brink of an economic recovery which, in the absence of a (clear) government, will be a lot more difficult," he added.

In Spain, both left and right claimed their German counterparts had won the upper hand. The opposition conservative Popular Party sent congratulations to Merkel on a "victory for you and the CDU, which is also a triumph for the ideas we share."

However Trinidad Jimenez, spokesman for international relations in Spain's ruling Socialist Party, said Schröder "is the one who has the most chance of forming a government." German voters had "expressed their unhappiness," he admitted, but still had "renewed their confidence" in the chancellor.

France reaffirms close ties

In Paris, European Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna insisted France and Germany would remain the EU's driving force regardless of the outcome.

"What I know is that the relations between France and Germany transcend the composition of the governments or political swings, and they will continue," Catherine Colonna told AFP.

"It's a strong, close relationship," she added. "The Franco-German couple will remain the motor of European construction regardless of the government in place in Berlin or Paris."

French Defense Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie echoed those statements, adding she could not think of a reason why Jacques Chirac and Angela Merkel should not enjoy the same positive relations as those with Schröder. At the same time, the minister said the results from the German election were a rejection of a neo-liberal social-model in Europe.

"I think the Germans have responded in a way that will certainly not allow a totally liberal model to be put in place," she said on Europe 1 radio.

European socialists congratulate Schröder

Social Democrats welcome Schröder's success

Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said that the election was a success for Schröder.

"It's a remarkable personal success for Schröder" who is a "great fighter with exceptional charisma," the Social Democratic head of government told AFP. "I'm convinced that if the election campaign had gone on for another two weeks, he would have won."

Swedish Premier Goran Persson congratulated Schröder for wanting to form a new government, saying: "It seems normal given the result."

Finland's prime minister, Matti Vanhanen, urged Germany to continue with its economic and social reforms and said he hoped that process would be felt across Europe.

"Their success will be felt in the economy throughout Europe, including in Finland," he told the FNB news agency. "The biggest countries always have the duty to act as a motor."

For Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, president of the European Parliament's Socialist bloc, "Merkel has no mandate from the German people for a neo-liberal approach to modernizing the German economy."

"A difficult situation"

Reinhold Lopatka, secretary general of Austria's conservative ÖVP party said it's "a difficult situation" and added: "They (the German conservatives) don't have the majority necessary for political change."

In Poland, former president and solidarity trade union leader Lech Walesa was perplexed.

"I'm surprised and I wonder what the Germans are going to do now," he told AFP. "It's always best to have a strong majority and a strong opposition to control the government. In Germany, a grand coalition might work."