Schroeder loses family support

Gerhard Schroeder, has received another call for him to resign - this time from his half-brother, Lothar Vosseler.

In an interview published in a German newspaper yesterday, Mr Vosseler said his brother should step down following the country's deadlocked election 10 days ago: "

“I wish he would stop putting so much strain on himself. I think he should quit," he said, reports Guardian.

According to Telegraph, Mr Vosseler, the younger half-brother of the chancellor, was addressing the issue on every German's mind.

Although The German chancellor, Mr Schroeder's Social Democrats (SPD) won three fewer parliamentary seats than the conservative opposition under the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Angela Merkel, he is sticking stubbornly to his position.

He has already earned himself the nickname Julius Caesar, after the "eternal dictator".

"When he has an idea in his head, he sticks with it," Mr Vosseler said. "He worked his way to the top and that is not something you give up so easily. He is a fighter."

Mr Vosseler, 58, has often criticised Mr Schroeder's policies and portrayed himself as typical of many of Germany's five million unemployed prepared to work but unable to find jobs.

P.T.