As the election frenzy begins to die down in Germany, the country's newspapers reflect on the outcome of the closest-run polls since the Second World War.

"Nobody is really celebrating, and nobody is really commiserating," says Berlin's Tageszeitung, summing up the general mood of the press.

The papers are united in their belief that the coalition of Social Democrats and Greens faces a tough second term in office.

"The new government cannot afford to delay," warns the Berliner Zeitung.

The paper lists reform of the job market and education system and rebuilding the East as the government's main priorities.

Foreign affairs

Several papers call for efforts to improve frosty relations with the USA to be put high on the government's agenda.

Germany's split and self-isolation affects the entire Atlantic community detrimentally

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung says the resignation of the Justice Minister, Herta Daeubler-Gmelin, is the least that could be expected after she allegedly compared the political tactics of US President George W Bush to those of Adolf Hitler.

"But this cheap sacrifice will not suffice to draw the poison from the relationship with the Bush administration," it says.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's opposition to any US strike against Iraq, the paper says, has harmed not just Germany's standing in the eyes of America, but all of Europe's.

"Germany's split and self-isolation affects the entire Atlantic community detrimentally, and the European part most severely," it says.

Close call

The slim margin with which the coalition of Social Democrats and Greens secured victory is a cause for concern in several papers.

Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung is optimistic that the coalition can work.

The election, to put it bluntly, has gone badly

Die Welt

"The majority of the new red-green governing coalition is large enough with 11 seats," it says, "to be able to guarantee a relatively stable government for the next four years."

Furthermore, the paper argues, because the coalition partners have already ironed-out most of their differences, they are likely to be fraught by fewer internal problems.

But the right of centre Die Welt disagrees.

"The election, to put it bluntly, has gone badly," the paper says.

"Badly not only for the two big parties, but for the entire country."

The paper fears that with parliament split evenly between the Social Democrats and their opponents, the Christian Democrats, the country will continue to suffer from political stagnation.

"Bare majorities do not lead to greater discipline," it says.

"Instead, they invite everything from all sorts of special favours and request, to outright blackmail."

Green light

But the Green Party seems - at least for the moment - to be free from criticism.

Die Welt pins all its hopes for forward movement on this party.

Germany's golden boy

"The impetus, which the country needs," it says, "can only really come from this side."

The Berliner Zeitung also expresses confidence in the diplomatic skills of the party's leader, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

It calls for Mr Schroeder to hand over public debates on Germany's position on Iraq to Mr Fischer, "because he is better at it".

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70

languages.