Merkel's "Dream Team"

Merkel's troupe, which has already been rechristened "incompetence team" by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Social Democrats, is not really a shadow cabinet as it's still unclear whether the team members will eventually fill their respective positions in a conservative-led cabinet.

Most members have said they are willing to serve as ministers, with Thuringia's premier, Dieter Althaus, being the one exception. Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber, who could lay claim to any ministry, has still not made up his mind about whether he wants to move to Berlin. And the election outcome will also be decisive as Merkel's Christian Democrats might have to hand ministries to coalition partners -- either the free-market liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), or the Social Democrats in a grand coalition.

The "competence team" is therefore meant to give a face to important policy areas. DW-WORLD offers some background on its members.

Agriculture, Environment and Consumer Protection: Gerda Hasselfeldt

Hasselfeldt, 55, is widely unknown despite serving as her party's deputy leader in parliament and holding the office of minister for construction and later health under former Chancellor Helmut Kohl from 1989 to 1992. She had been accused of a cold leadership style and refusing to listen to ministry officials. The mother of two children later became her party's financial affairs spokeswoman in parliament. A macro-economist, she grew up in a rural part of Bavaria. Her father was a farmer, butcher and mayor of a small town in the eastern part of the state.

Culture: Norbert Lammert

Lammert is deputy president of Germany's parliament and has been his party's culture and media spokesman. The 57-year-old social scientist is the son of a baker and comes from western Germany's industrial Ruhr area. Much of his political career has been focused on education policies, but he also served as junior minister in Germany's ministry of economics from 1994.

Eastern German Reconstruction: Dieter Althaus

Althaus might play a decisive role during the election. The 47-year-old premier of the eastern state of Thuringia is meant to become the CDU's face of eastern Germany and is expected to placate voters in the east after Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber accused them of being "frustrated" and called on voters in the western parts of the country to not let easterners decide the outcome of the election. Initially considered bland, Althaus succeeded Thuringia's charismatic former premier, Bernhard Vogel, in 2003 and has since become a constant guest on German talk shows. He has called on his party colleagues to show willingness to compromise with the ruling coalition of Social Democrats and Greens and veered from established CDU views on labor policies and subsidies for the eastern states. A former professor of mathematics and physics, he still avoids open confrontation with party friends and is considered a close Merkel ally.

Economy and Labor: Peter Müller

Müller, 49, is premier of the southwestern state of Saarland and is seen as a generalist. He is considered to be a definite member of a cabinet under Merkel, but not necessarily in the same function as the one he has taken on now. Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber might claim the economics and labor ministry after all. Müller has become well known throughout Germany as president of his party's commission on immigration. A lawyer by trade, he is considered a "liberal" conservative, who does not always follow party lines, as has been the case regarding immigration issues as well as his opposition to the war in Iraq.

Finances: Paul Kirchhof

A former constitutional court judge, Kirchhof is not a member of the Christian Democrats and is respected as a tax expert across party lines. The 62-year-old law professor from Heidelberg has introduced a radical tax reform model: He wants to do away with all forms of tax subsidies and lower the highest income tax rate to 25 percent. Kirchhof, who has four children, has also been lobbying for more state help to families with children. During his last year as constitutional court judge, he lowered the tax burden on families by billions. Observers doubt that he will actually serve in Merkel's cabinet should she become chancellor. Many CDU members consider his ideas too radical. He also rejects Merkel's plan to raise VAT by 2 percent.

Foreign and Security Policy: Wolfgang Schäuble

Without a doubt, Schäuble is one of the CDU's most competent politicians and a generalist like Müller. A former party leader, he has concentrated on international politics for years and shaped the CDU's views in this area. Schäuble recently visited US President George W. Bush, as he again pointed out during statements on Wednesday. His relationship with Merkel is not the best, however. Last fall, he rejected her offer to become her deputy for financial and economic affairs in parliament. A former parliamentary leader himself who lost his positions in the wake of a party bribery scandal, Schäuble was upset that Merkel did not nominate him for the German presidency in 2004 and gave that job to former IMF director Horst Köhler instead. It's unlikely that Schäuble, who uses a wheel chair after an assassination attempt, will become foreign minister in case of an election victory as that position will be claimed by the CDU's likely coalition partner, the FDP, or Stoiber.

Interior affairs: Günther Beckstein

Beckstein, 61, is Bavarian interior minister, but well known throughout Germany as he is a frequent guest on national talk shows. He is often 's interviewed on subjects such as terrorism, illegal immigration and domestic safety. In office for 11 years, he is an ardent promoter of a "no tolerance" policy and has uncompromising views on immigration. Bavaria is the state that deports immigrants fastest and most frequently. Beckstein is a loyal supporter of Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber and many see him as a potential successor to his current boss.

Research and Education: Annette Schavan

Schavan, 50, serves as minister for culture and education in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg. She was defeated in a race to succeed former premier Erwin Teufel by current premier, Günther Oettinger. A theologian, Schavan is considered a smart politician, who likes to remain in the background and doesn't search the limelight. In 1998, she became well known throughout Germany when she refused to grant civil-servant status to a Muslim teacher who insisted on wearing a veil in the classroom.

Social affairs, health, senior citizens: Ursula von der Leyen

The 46-year-old minister for social affairs in the northern state of Lower Saxony is considered one of her party's rising stars. Last December she was elected as a vice chairman by 94.1 percent of delegates. Von der Leyen worked as a doctor before becoming a minister in 2003. She is the daughter of a former premier of Lower Saxony, Ernst Albrecht, and has seven children.