Horst Köhler is beginning his second term as German president, after winning Satuday's election. Four months ahead of the country's parliamentary elections, his victory is being seen as a boost for the parties that backed him, Chancellor Merkel's Conservatives and the opposition Free Democrats. Victory came however by the slimmest of margins. By just one vote in the special Federal Assembly that elects the president, Köhler won the absolute majority he needed to avoid a second round.