Whereas in May and June 2005 victory of the Christian Democrats seemed highly likely , with some polls giving them an absolute majority , this picture changed shortly before the election at 18 September 2005 .
Whereas in May and June 2005 victory of the conservatives seemed highly likely , with some polls giving them an absolute majority , this changed shortly before the election at September 18 , 2005 , especially after the conservatives introduced Paul Kirchhof as potential minister of the treasury , and after a TV duel between Merkel and Schröder where many considered Schröder to have performed better .