Germany's business leaders expressed their disappointment on Sunday at the results of the general elections.

"From the point of view of industry and trade, we are bitterly disappointed," said Juergen Thumann, chief of the German industry confederation BDI.

Official results showed that no party nor alliance won a clear majority in Sunday's election. Both Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his challenger Angela Merkel, leader of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), claimed to set up a new government.

Analysts say a grand coalition by Schroeder's Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the CDU/CSU is most likely.

"Germany is becoming more difficult to govern," Thumann said.

Hubertus Pellengahr, spokesman for the German Retailer's Federation HDE, urged the parties to settle the dispute and set up a new government as soon as possible.

President Anton Boerner of the German Wholesale and Foreign Trade Federation BGA, said it was a pity that Germans had not chosen a clear direction.

Soon after the election results were announced by TV networks, both Schroeder and Merkel claimed victory in the elections.

The CDU/CSU won 35.2 percent and the SPD 34.3 percent of the votes, according to official results.

Source: Xinhua