Berlin:Germany s foreign minister embarked today on a tough 12-month battle fronting a demoralised and divided party to challenge a popular Angela Merkel for the chancellorship in elections next year.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier was nominated yesterday in a meeting of his Social Democratic Party (SPD) to challenge Chancellor Angela Merkel for the top job next September. Merkel, 54,is from the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU). The two parties have been in an uneasy "grand coalition" since an inconclusive general election in 2005.

What Steinmeier s new position will mean in terms of policy for the 12 months that the present coalition has to run remains to be seen, with many fearing a state of gridlock will take over, just as the economy slows. Merkel though rejected any such talk today, telling reporters -- after first congratulating Steinmeier on his nomination -- that the work of her coalition would not be compromised.

Born in 1956 in a small town in Lower Saxony in the old West Germany, Steinmeier served as chief of staff in former SPD chancellor Gerhard Schroeder s government before becoming foreign minister in 2005. Steinmeier has never run for elected office, however, and many wonder if he has the killer instincts needed for the rough-and-tumble of party politics. For one thing, the silver-haired Steinmeier, 52,will be flying the flag for a party that is one of Europe s oldest social democratic movements but is now in crisis.

Source : PTI