A man cycles past defaced election campaign posters of German Chancellor Schroeder and his challenger Merkel in Berlin. A man cycles past defaced election campaign posters of Social Democratic German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (R) and his challenger Angela Merkel (L) chairwoman of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Berlin September 16, 2005. A centre-right coalition sought by Merkel is running marginally ahead of the countries' other main parties ahead of Sunday's federal election, a poll showed on Friday. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann