German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and SPD chairman Franz Muentefering give thumbs up after their arrival for a Social Democrats party meeting in Berlin. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (R) and SPD chairman Franz Muentefering give thumbs up after their arrival for a Social Democrats one-day extraordinary party meeting in Berlin August 31, 2005. Germany's elections will be held on September 18, one year ahead of schedule, after the country's highest court ruled the early vote engineered by Schroeder legal. REUTERS/Michael Dalder