With plenty of distractions on the international and domestic political stage keeping him occupied, the last thing German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder wanted was a fight on a third front. But after a report surfaced in a British tabloid newspaper earlier this month alleging Schröder's fourth marriage was in trouble, that's exactly what he got. Now the chancellor finds himself embroiled in a legal battle to clear his name and gag The Mail on Sunday from any further personal revelations - truthful or not.

However, although his influence may stretch from the Bundestag to the United Nations Security Council, it seems to hold little sway with the British legal system that is currently preventing any German plans to prevent further articles by the popular British newspaper.

The Mail on Sunday printed a story on January 5 that romantically linked Schröder to a well-known German television interviewer. The infuriated chancellor then took the issue to court in a bid to silence the newspaper. Schröder's lawyer announced on Friday that the action had been successful and that the chancellor had won a temporary injunction from a Hamburg court ordering the Mail on Sunday not to repeat any of the six points referred to in the story.

Mail on Sunday bites back after temporary injunction

Under the terms of the injunction, the Mail on Sunday publishers would face a penalty of €250,000 ($266,750) if they repeated allegations of a split between Schröder and wife Doris Schröder-Kopf (photo). Far from being the end of the affair, the newspaper responded to the German court action with a two-page barrage, taking the contest into a second round.

In an editorial with the title "Sorry, Herr Schröder but you don't rule Britain ... at least, not yet," the Eurosceptic newspaper denounced the chancellor as a "vain politician" who "cannot bear criticism." The Mail added that the German chancellor's actions were a warning to the British people that they stood to lose many of their liberties if their nation further integrates itself into the European Union. It also included a "message to our German readers," written in German. It said: "The Mail on Sunday will not be censored by Federal Chancellor Schröder. Call the number below if you know any stories that Mr. Schröder would find embarrassing and that the German press ought to be publishing."

The newspaper also commented on Germany's own censorship laws by adding: "Because of our different tradition and our robust democracy, we can publish this sort of material and believe we have every right to do so. We feel sorry for our German colleagues who are limited by oppressive laws, and prevented from doing their jobs properly.''

The Mail on Sunday, along with the rest the British press, is not bound by privacy rules. The paper is considered a robust member of the country's mass circulation press that largely regards politicians' private lives as fair game. Schröder now faces a battle against Britain's legal system.

Schröder to take 'further steps' says source

Speaking to the British daily The Guardian, a source close to the chancellor said that further steps were likely, despite the view of British legal experts that the German court's ruling was not enforceable in Britain.

"I would reckon that there will be another round," said the source. "You have to accept that there is an urge to get to know politicians and that this can spill over from the public into the private sphere. But that is no reason whatsoever to publish lies, and if that is the case then one will take action."

When asked by The Guardian if the chancellor was angry, the source said: "Yes. He is."

In an official statement, the German government's spokesman said: "We reject the allegation of censorship. This was a sovereign and independent decision of the German courts. The allegations will rebound on those who have made them."

Legal experts say Germans must go to British court

In order to stop the Mail on Sunday or any other British newspaper from going further, Schröder would have to obtain an injunction in the English courts. But the chances of this happening are slim because of the lack of privacy laws in Britain. Geoffrey Robertson, a leading British media lawyer told The Guardian that the chancellor's only choice would be to seek an injunction for libel or breach of confidence. For that to be successful, he would have to swear on oath that the story was false. If the Mail on Sunday defended the claim by proving the story was true, an injunction would not be granted.

"He could seek an injunction for breach of confidence, where he can pinpoint the source of the story as someone with whom he had a confidential relationship, such as a security guard," said Mr. Robertson in The Guardian. "But that course would require admitting the story was true."

After four marriages, the latest to Doris Schröder-Kopf, a woman 19 years his junior, Schröder's love life is source of interest, even within his own country. He is already widely dubbed the "Audi Chancellor" -- the trademark rings of the German car manufacturer symbolizing his four wedding rings -- and is currently facing a similar legal battle with two German newspapers. The chancellor also went to court last year to quash speculation that he dyes his hair.