Angela Merkel, chairwoman of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and challenger of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder walks past a CDU election campaign poster as she arrives for a news conference in Berlin September 14, 2005. Rocked by ferocious attacks on her shadow finance minister just days before an election, German conservative leader Angela Merkel looked poised on Wednesday to rehabilitate a popular party heavyweight and former rival. The poster reads: 'Better For Our Country' and 'Clear Course For The CDU'. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann AKW/CVI