GERMANY: Chancellor Gerhard Schröder wasted no time in announcing coalition talks with the Green Party yesterday, just hours after the tightest general election win in Germany history.
But hopes of a swift reconciliation with Washington were dashed when Mr Schröder restated his opposition to a strike against Iraq.
"I think this difference of opinion will remain. We will have it out in a fair and open way without in any way endangering the basis of German-American relations. That is my firm intention," he said.
Mr Schröder said reports of a strain in bilateral relations were "unfounded" and had been "played up during the election campaign".
"Between friends, there can be factual differences but they should not be personalised, particularly between close allies," said Mr Schröder at his first post-election press conference.
He announced the departure of Ms Herta Däubler-Gmelin, the former justice minister, who allegedly compared US President Mr George W. Bush with Hitler.
The Chancellor said his former minister, who denies making the remarks, asked not to be considered for a cabinet post in a letter because she didn't "want to be a burden on a future government".
The Hitler episode added further strain to already tense US-German relations, following Mr Schröder's decision to make an election issue of his government's opposition to a war with Iraq.
The Chancellor wrote to President Bush to explain the alleged Hitler comments, but yesterday the White House said the letter "didn't really read like an apology".
Mr Schröder's adviser on US affairs called yesterday for more co-operation with Washington on security and defence issues to help repair relations. Mr Karsten Voigt stressed the Chancellor liked the US. "He is definitely not anti-American. In his eyes, this was criticism of specific aspects of the policy of the new administration."
The first move to repair relations may come later this week, when Mr Peter Struck, the German Defence Minister, participates in a NATO conference in Warsaw, which will be attended by his US counterpart, Mr Donald Rumsfeld.
An exhausted Mr Schröder told reporters in Berlin yesterday there was "no time to lose" in forming another coalition government with the Green Party.
Election results yesterday showed that the ruling Social Democrats (SPD) and the Christian Democrats (CDU) captured 38.5 per cent of popular support each in Sunday's election.
However, an increase in support for the Green Party to 8.6 per cent paved the way for a second coalition government with the SPD.
Mr Joschka Fischer, a senior Green Party member and Foreign Minister, said the party would not "flex its muscles" in coalition talks but would be anxious to see retained its pet projects such as the "eco tax" on petrol.
Yesterday, Mr Edmund Stoiber, the conservative who hoped to unseat Mr Schröder, said the new government's small majority would hinder its plans to reform the economy and the employment market. "The coalition will have such difficulties that it will not survive the term of office," said Mr Stoiber.
Following Sunday's election disappointment, the CDU announced a shake-up in its party structure yesterday. The CDU leader, Ms Angela Merkel, said she was taking over the high-profile position of parliamentary speaker in the new Bundestag.
She stood aside earlier this year to let Mr Stoiber, the Bavarian state Premier, run instead for chancellor. Yesterday's move was seen as an attempt by her to return to the political spotlight.
The deputy leader of the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) resigned yesterday after party colleagues blamed him for its poor election performance. FDP leaders say their hopes of being coalition kingmakers were dashed when Mr Jürgen Möllemann distributed an election pamphlet attacking Israel and a senior member of the Jewish community in Germany.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the reformed communist Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) took responsibility for the election defeat yesterday that left them outside parliament.
Opinion poll analysts said the PDS vote collapsed as voters in eastern states voted for the SPD, in recognition of the government's handling of the floods crisis.
