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Schroeder in U.S. for Bush talks

From CNN Correspondent Chris Burns

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BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has arrived in Washington for talks with the U.S. president, but his trip is being overshadowed by the possibility he could be replaced by a more pro-American leader later this year.

Schroeder arrived in the United States on Sunday for talks on a range of issues with President George W. Bush, including the upcoming G8 summit and the Iranian election.

''It's always been good to talk, for the chancellor to talk eye-to-eye with the president,'' says Bela Anda, a spokesman for Schroeder.

But expectations have been scaled back because Schroeder is having to keep an eye on a political rift brewing back home.

The embattled leader, who won elections in 2002 by opposing the Iraq war and vowing never to send troops there, appears to be a lame duck on his way out.

Polls indicate elections in September could see him replaced by Christian Democrat Angela Merkel, who favors stronger ties with the United States.

A poll released Friday showed Merkel's Christian Democrats leading Schroeder's Social Democrats 44 percent to 27 percent.

If elected, the 50-year-old conservative challenger would be the country's first female chancellor and the first to be elected from the former communist East Germany.

A critic of Schroeder's opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, Merkel has promised a more pro-American policy in government.

While Merkel would not be expected to commit troops to Iraq, like Bush she opposes the chancellor's calls to lift the arms embargo on China, while Germany's Russia policy could change too.

"Merkel would be tougher, probably more like on the Condoleeza Rice line, toward Putin, I would assume," says Jan-Friedrich Kallmorgen, from the German Council on Foreign Relations.

On the other hand, Schroeder agrees with Bush that Turkey should join the European Union, while Merkel doesn't.

Ties between Bush and Schroeder remain strained after estrangement over the Iraq war, but the two made amends at a meeting in Mainz, Germany, in February.

The Schroeder government has sent thousands of troops to help stabilize Afghanistan and the Balkans.

The trickiest issue the two leaders will discuss is a German-backed proposal to create six new permanent members on the U.N. Security Council.

Germany is seeking its own seat as part of an expansion of the council, but Washington has been non-committal about the idea.

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