Experts See Merkel as Chancellor

German election experts predict that conservative Angela Merkel will eventually top incumbent Gerhard Schröder in the fight for the chancellery, according to a Reuters poll. Of the 16 analysts polled, only one believed Schröder had a chance at forming a coalition government and blocking out Merkel in the coming weeks. Merkel and Schröder both claimed Germany's top job after Sunday's election brought miserable results for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and its sister Christian Social Union. Though the Union parties are still the strongest in the Bundestag, they don't have enough of a majority to form their wished-for coalition with the pro-business Free Democrats. Twelve of the polled experts said they believed Merkel would still be able to form a coalition with her as chancellor.