BERLIN, Oct. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Leaders of Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) and conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) are holding a summit Thursday evening to try to work out a deal on the unsettled chancellorship.

    But both parties threw a wet blanket Thursday on hope that a summit meeting later in the day between the CDU and SPD could achieve a deal on the issue at the meeting.

    earlier in the day CDU chief Angela Merkel said after a meeting with other CDU leaders that a decision was unlikely before Sunday evening, adding that the discussions could continue Friday morning.

    She said her party was not seeking "a coalition of the lowest common denominator," but a coalition of new possibilities for Germany.

    Merkel said the CDU would demand the key post of Germany's parliament president.

    Meanwhile, SPD Chairman Franz Muentefering said after a meeting with his party leaders Thursday that he hoped to have a package agreement in place, including a settlement to the chancellor issue, on Monday morning when his party leadership meets.

    He repeated that his party was engaged in talks with the aim of keeping Gerhard Schroeder as chancellor.

    But sources in the party did not rule out that Chancellor Garhard Schroeder may accept the post of vice-chancellor.

    The SPD's Renate Schmit, incumbent family minister, said that Schroeder would be indispensable for the SPD in a coalition with the CDU/CSU.

    Merkel, Schroeder, Muentefering and Edmund Stoiber, the leader of CDU's Bavaria sister party Christian Social Union (CSU), are attending the meeting.

    Apart from the chancellor issue, the summit is expected to discuss cabinet posts, parliament presidency and policy issues.

    Both parties' leadership held consultations Thursday morning to discuss strategies before the evening meeting.

    Earlier in the day, Merkel said she expected an agreement would be struck on the chancellor issue soon between her CDU and Schroeder's SPD.

    The conservatives have demanded that the personnel issue be decided before formal negotiations on a coalition government, while the SPD insisted that the question be settled in formal coalition talks.

    "We need to see if we have a basis of trust for coalition talks. We must see if we can put together our respective households and part of this will be the issue of personnel," Merkel said Wednesday.

    Schroeder responded by saying that more government posts than just the chancellor's job should be discussed.

    "I think it has become clear to the Union (CDU) that one cannot just settle one issue first," he said.

    Though the dispute remains unsettled, both parties have said their exploratory talks on Wednesday made progress.

    After the talks, Merkel said the talks were "successful" and had shown "common basis" for a coalition, expressing optimism that a deal would be eventually hammered out.

    Schroeder also said the exploratory talks "have shown that a basis for a grand coalition exists", as the two sides edged closer on key issues such as the labor market reform, social welfare system and public finances.

    The German political crisis resulted from the Sept. 18 elections, in which neither the SPD-Green coalition nor the CDU/CSU-FDP alliance won majority. The CDU/CSU seized 226 seats in the Bundestag, four more than that of the SPD.

    After attempts to join hands with smaller parties failed, the SPD and CDU/CSU have sought to forge a grand coalition government, which was once seen in later 1960s. Enditem