Disappointed by his narrow defeat, conservative candidate Edmund Stoiber warned that Gerhard Schröder would face a reinvigorated opposition, forecasting that his government would not last for long.

But before the opposition could get down to work, the conservative camp -- consisting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) -- were split over the question of the conservative parliamentary group leadership.

The dispute was ignited as various leading conservatives called for CDU leader Angela Merkel to become leader of the re-assembled parliamentary group in the new Bundestag session. But on Monday afternoon, parliamentary group Chairman Friedrich Merz stepped down from his post, paving the way for Merkel to reclaim power over members of parliament from both the CDU And the CSU.

Meteoric career

Merkel first came into the limelight during the darkest days of the CDU’s slush-fund scandal.

As the crisis deepened and former Chancellor Helmut Kohl's prominent role slowly became clear, Merkel was the first to make the most of Kohl's downfall. An interesting position, since he was the one who had plucked her from obscurity and brought her into the cabinet.

Merkel's career in the CDU was described by some as a breakthrough for women. In addition, it was close to a wonder that a traditional party with strong Catholic roots would choose an east German leader – or rather, an east German, a woman and a protestant leader.

Last year, Merkel was thought to have good chances to become the conservative’s chancellor candidate in this year’s federal elections. But she was pressured to cede the race to Bavarian leader Edmund Stoiber, as some party big-wigs believed that Germany wasn't ready for a female chancellor.

Now, as chair of the Bundestag's parliamentary opposition, Merkel has another shot at power.

Stoiber calls himself 'top representative'

Stoiber, meanwhile, did not cede all on Monday, saying he would remain the Union’s “top representative” . He has announced he will focus on foreign policy in the coming weeks, and has already announced a trip to Washington, where he will attempt to patch up strained German-American relations.

He has pledged that the German government will face a strong opposition and that “the Schröder government will only be able to govern for a very, very short time”.

With 306 seats in the German parliament, the red-green coalition may face icy winds from the 295-seat strong parliamentary opposition.

But as for Stoiber – he will be far from Berlin, back at his old job of running Bavaria.