Angela Merkel is set to become Germany's first woman chancellor on Tuesday, but must avoid infighting in a coalition with former leftist foes to implement reforms designed to revive Europe's largest economy.

The 51-year-old pastor's daughter, also set to be the first chancellor to have grown up in Germany's formerly east, is widely expected to win strong backing from parliament to take over the post from Gerhard Schroeder.

But a majority of Germans are convinced the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader will not last a full four-year term because she had to strike a coalition deal with Schroeder's Social Democrats (SPD) after inconclusive elections.

Merkel was forced during tough, month-long coalition talks to abandon a planned major shake-up of the German social welfare system that had been a cornerstone of her economic reforms.

She has vowed to resuscitate the economy, once Europe's motor but now one of the most sluggish in the 25-nation European Union, and cut unemployment that hit post-war highs under Schroeder.

Merkel also wants to repair relations with the United States, strained by Schroeder's vocal opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Source: Agencies