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Deutsche Welle

Franz Müntefering is making a comeback as chairman of Germany's Social Democratic Party.  More than a few called it a putsch when Müntefering and his party colleague Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the current German foreign minister, edged former chairman Kurt Beck out of office. Steinmeier is now the SPD's newly-anointed candidate for chancellor.  But is there really anything Mr Müntefering, the old and new party star, can do for the Social Democrats?  Who really stands behind this dyed-in-the-wool Social Democrat, and how does the "Münte" system really work?  He has always been a man of the nomenclature, ready and willing to serve where needed.  Now he seems to have become the Social Democrats' new backbone and future hope.