Today, German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder went to the Reichstag and called a vote of confidence in his government. Bizarrely, it is a vote he wanted to, and in the event did, lose.

Following his party's shocking election defeat in North Rhine Westphalia, the Chancellor decided that he could not proceed without a popular mandate. Despite the fact that his governing coalition still maintains a majority in the Reichstag, the Chancellor has had enough. Hold a vote of no-confidence, force new elections, and then either endorse me, or bury me -- so seems to be his suicidal political mindset at present.

Many party members see fighting an election campaign, having lost a vote of confidence, as their own electoral suicide -- why shoot yourself in the foot, when you still have a majority in parliament? Now it remains for German President Horst Koehler to examine the constitutional legality of forcing a vote of confidence. Koehler is under considerable pressure to allow fresh elections - few wish to put up with a lame-duck government for another year. However his first duty as President is to uphold the constitution. His duty is to the German state, not to the politicians. Either way, he will wield a heavy axe.

"The simplest truths in politics often have far more to do with the personalities of political actors, than they do with political programmes or strategies," leads the respected voice of the left, Sueddeutsche Zeitung. "In the case of the vote of no confidence...the simple truth is this: Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has lost the desire, to continue in government under present conditions." The Chancellor has no intention of resigning however. If elections are forthcoming in the autumn, he will seek the endorsement of the German people, as is appropriate in a democracy. Officially the SPD-Green coalition will campaign for a third term in office, but the paper sees no chance of this coming to fruition. What could possibly happen in 10 weeks to knock the CDU off its perch and help the SPD recover? Schroeder's decision is therefore baffling to his own coalition. "It's not logical...to allow mistrust to be voiced, and then a couple of weeks later try to win back that confidence." The commentator suggests Schroeder feels as if he has been forced into a corner. Absurdly, the left of the party, which he has never trusted, has pledged its loyalty to the Chancellor, but is now asked to abstain during the vote of no confidence, to bring about new elections. A few Green Party members will certain vote yes, in support of the government, because they have no desire to be made scapegoats, the paper continues, even though they've had quite enough of the Chancellor's antics.

"There is no doubt that this coup is not accordance with Article 68 of the constitution. All the same, it is better that neither Horst Koehler nor the constitutional court, oppose the move," the paper insists. "The image of politics, in fact the whole party system, would suffer serious, perhaps irreparable damage." In the end, Schroeder is responsible for handing Merkel the Chancellery - a whole year ahead of schedule - the paper soberly concludes.

The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung heralds the end of Schroeder's government. The vote of confidence marks the end of a political cooperation, which was first came together in the early 1980s. Schroeder and Muenterfering have lost the confidence of their coalition partners. Even a majority of cabinet members no longer have any trust in the chancellor and his ability to lead the government to a third election victory, following his rash decision on 22nd May to seek new elections.

"If viewed in this light, the vote of confidence is no longer a fake", the paper suggests. The coalition has lost trust in the Chancellor. The commentator wonders whether in fact Schroeder himself long ago lost confidence in the coalition project. The Chancellor resented Green Party leader Joschka Fischer, after he was celebrated as a hero by SPD party members in 2002, having snatched victory for the coalition from the jaws of defeat. This slim majority seriously restricted Schroeder's room for manoeuvre. Only after the 2002 election could social insurance and the labor market reforms be attempted. If they had been tackled before, the paper says, the coalition would never have been re-elected. Since that time the SPD has failed to make up for the loss of support on the left (which has haemorrhaged since the start of a painful reform programme) by occupying the center ground.

The transfer of the SPD party leadership in spring 2004 to Muenterfering was Schroeder's first attempt to broaden his political base. It hasn't really changed anything though, the commentator writes, the party has continued to lose elections, party members, and stability. Its attempts to paper over the cracks and present an image of harmony have been torn asunder and the coalition now finds itself in chaos.

Das Bild, takes a colourful but more conciliatory tone. Under the headline, "Thank you, Chancellor," Peter Boenisch takes the liberal consensus to task, in a rebuttal of talk of an abuse of the constitution. The paper suggests this is wishy-washy, liberal clap-trap, and that there is no abuse of the constitution to speak of. "Why abuse? And what's undemocratic about it?" the commentator rants. "The constitution has proved valuable, but it's not a sacred cow...Voters want a new start...and therefore like Bild, one can be grateful for the Chancellor's action. Whether you hold him and his people guilty or partly responsible for the national misery, one should recognise at least that the Chancellor has made it possible for a quick decision by the people." It's time Germany thought about changing the constitution to make this process more straightforward, Boenisch concludes.

Beneath an irreverent picture of Gerhard Schroeder in drag (the caption reads "Miss Trauen" a play on the German word for distrust). Die Tageszeitung thinks it would all be a lot easier without the Chancellor. If the Reichstag grants his wish and votes against the government in a vote of no confidence, then Schroeder's problems will only just be beginning, the paper fears. Not only is there the constitutional question of legality, but also the shattering of support for the SPD. If Schroeder would just sling his hook, the whole task would be more straightforward.

The Chancellor is attempting to take the party hostage. After the defeat in Nordrhein Westfalia, he threatened to make new elections a referendum on his reform programme. What about people who don't agree with the party's direction, the paper asks, but rather stand for the traditional values of the SPD? These people have no room to manoeuvre, especially as the new "Party of the Left" has been discredited by the populist, right-wing utterances of its leader Oskar Lafontaine. Like the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the paper also considers the vote of confidence as totally ridiculous. How can a party member pledge his support for the Chancellor, and then vote against him in the Reichstag? Absurd.

Die Welt, follows the FAZ in proclaiming the end of Gerhard Schroeder's government and welcomes the opportunity for new elections to clear everything up. It is a golden opportunity for the opposition. However, "They first need a mandate - something on which they can call - if they seriously wish to set the country on a new course." The SPD also has a duty to campaign effectively, says the paper, to prevent populists on the far left from getting a foot in the door. "The real vote of confidence is not the one today in parliament, against the bamboozled Red-Green majority. The real vote of confidence will be answered by the electorate. Voters have a duty. Their time will come on 18th September."

The daily voice of business, Handelsblatt, thinks all this talk about the legality of new elections is really missing the point. Firstly, the fathers of the constitution wanted to prevent negative political coalitions, which broke up governments but didn't deliver a new majority. And secondly, they wanted to make it impossible for a Chancellor to choose the timing of an election to his advantage. Neither applies in this case, the commentator insists. "New elections will in all likelihood deliver a new, stable majority government. And one can't accuse Schroeder of calling the election to his, or the SPD's advantage." At the end of the day, the people want new elections and Koehler and the constitutional court would be foolish to ignore this.