Germany Has Two Chancellors.

What happens when two opponents in an democratic election both claim victory in a democracy? Well, here in Europe, everybody is wondering whether now Germany is going to be manageable since both (Conservative) Merkel and (Labour) Schröder claim chancellorship and the French media tend to end their coverage on whether the Franco-German "Couple" or "Axis" will continue as strongly. This "couple" is sometimes criticized too, for its actions and lack of consideration for other (smaller) countries in Europe. In a way, it has lost some of its legitimacy.

I don't think there is anything to worry about though. I trust the Germans to settle the situation - after all, the French and the Americans have had their own political - even democratic - crises. Yet the outcome of the election is particularly interesting as, in my opinion, it illustrates a more general trend in Europe where the large traditional political parties tend to lose out to smaller lists.