 Chancellor Schroeder has toned down his rhetoric |
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder says he expects his Social Democrats (SPD) will be able form a "stable" government with the opposition. He was speaking after holding a second round of talks with Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Mrs Merkel described the talks as "constructive and serious" but stressed they had not yet agreed on who would be chancellor, a post both lay claim to.
The conservatives emerged only slightly ahead of the SPD in recent elections.
The talks, which continue next week, may start to accelerate after a by-election in Dresden at the weekend, which has been seen as holding politicians back from making compromises.
Earlier, Ms Merkel insisted the talks would be about policy and not on the prospects for a coalition with the SPD.
She said they wanted to find whether there was common ground for working together, which could help to determine whether conditions would be right later for coalition talks.
Mr Schroeder has already said he is certain there would eventually be a coalition government.
Schroeder confident
Ten days after Germany's inconclusive election and the situation is gradually starting to appear clearer, the BBC's Ray Furlong reports.
 | PROVISIONAL ELECTION RESULTS CDU/CSU: 35.2% (225 seats) SPD: 34.3% (222) Free Democrats: 9.8% (61) Left Party: 8.7% (54) Greens: 8.1% (51) |
Most people now expect the two main parties to form a government togethe.
But the fact that both Mr Schroeder and Mrs Merkel insist they should lead the next government is still a major stumbling block.
So far, the conservatives have formed a united front behind Mrs Merkel, while cracks have started to appear in the Social Democrat ranks.
Mr Schroeder, initially so strident, has himself toned down the strength of his rhetoric.
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