Stoiber expected to head opposition

Berlin - A senior official in German Chancellor Gerhard Schr÷der's Social Democrats has been quoted as saying he expects Bavarian…

Berlin - A senior official in German Chancellor Gerhard Schr÷der's Social Democrats has been quoted as saying he expects Bavarian leader, Mr Edmund Stoiber, to head the opposition in September 2002 elections.

The leader of the Christian Democrats has typically headed the conservative ticket. Yet many in the party are dissatisfied with Ms Angela Merkel, who became their first woman leader in wake of a slush fund scandal around former chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl.