Schröder could stay as chancellor until poll in new yearThe chances of Angela Merkel becoming Germany's next chancellor suffered a setback yesterday when the Greens appeared to rule out joining a coalition with her conservative CDU party.With the country in political gridlock after Sunday's inconclusive general election, speculation was growing last night that the chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, would try to force new elections early next year. A day of political horse-trading left Europe's most populous country facing months of confusion. No government is likely to emerge until November at the earliest. Both the main party leaders announced that they had...