"German news websites about the election, and the election results are seen as a defeat for the conservative"
They would say that if Merkel received 100% of the vote. The coalitions may not end the way Merkel wanted it, but one thing is certain...Schroeder is out.
Actually it's not certain but it's very likely.
And it is in fact a defeat for the CDU/CSU union, compared to what was expected. I mean, what would you call it if the union was consistently above 40% in the polls for months and then election day comes around and they are around 35.5%?
The likely result will be Merkel as the ineffectual figurehead of a "grand coalition" betwen the conservative union and Schroeder's SPD party. Parties and coalitions are what matters in German politics- not the Chancellor as an individual. In every move she makes, Merkel will have to represent the interests of Schroeder's SPD as well as her own conservatives. That means she'll have to toe the anti-American foreign policy far more than she would otherwise.
I agree this result is better than an outright Schroeder win, but one could have expected much better based on the polls and the 11% unemployment in Germany.
That is not certain at all. If no government can be formed, German law calls for new elections to be called, which has never happened in German postwar history. One must assume this would only help Schroeder, and he would likely prevail. Things are looking very bad indeed for Merkel & Co. She has only herself to blame, however, after a lackluster, gaffe-filled campaign which never effectively refuted Schroeder's lies.