Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has remained upbeat on his chances in Germany's upcoming election during a rally in the city of Duesseldorf in the key western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Forsa poll

SPD: +1 to 39% CDU/CSU: -1 to 39%

Mr Schroeder defended his government's record to the crowd and said he was confident of winning a second term in office at the polls, due to be held in just under three weeks' time.

He later attended a rally in the south-western city of Karlsruhe.

His speech came as a new poll showed his party level with that of his main rival for the first time in the campaign.

A Forsa Institute poll released on Wednesday showed Mr Schroeder's Social Democrats Party (SPD) had improved by one percentage point to 39%, while the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) led by Edmund Stoiber had dropped one to the same score.

'Decisive leadership'

A separate poll by the Infratest Dimap institute, also published on Wednesday, showed the gap narrowing to one percentage point.

Infratest Dimap poll

SPD steady on 39% CDU/CSU -1 to 40%

The Social Democrats have significantly improved their standing in the opinion polls in recent weeks, after Mr Schroeder was seen to be showing decisive leadership during the devastating floods.

But with new national figures expected to show another monthly climb in unemployment - already over four million - the backing from the chancellor's traditional supporters cannot be taken for granted, correspondents say.

Allensbach poll

SPD: +1 to 34.2% CDU/CSU: -7 to 39.1%

An Allensbach Institute poll also released late on Tuesday showed the conservatives still holding a five-point lead, down from seven points a week ago.

Mr Schroeder also used the rally to reiterate his objection to a military campaign in Iraq, saying that Germany would not take part in such a campaign "under my leadership".

Election battleground

Mr Stoiber made his own pitch in the state at the weekend.

North Rhine-Westphalia, where one in five German voters live, has had an SPD-led regional government for around 30 years.

Polls shows Stoiber's party could get 40% of votes

But its profile is changing, says the BBC's Berlin correspondent, Rob Broomby.

Heavy industries like steel and coal now employ fewer people and the transition to a service economy is under way.

In certain pockets, unemployment can still be as high as in eastern Germany.

Although the state still succeeds in attracting large-scale foreign investment, it is getting harder.

As a result, traditional SPD voters are disappointed and their votes are up for grabs.