Berline, May 24: Horst Koehler scraped through to victory with a narrow margin of just 15 votes in the battle for the German presidency. He gave up his post as managing director of the International Monetary Fund to run for the largely ceremonial job. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's candidate Gesine Schwan came second in what his opponents hope is an omen for the general election. The campaign has been overshadowed by controversy surrounding the Nazi past of candidate Hans Filbinger. Now aged 90, he was a wartime naval judge who ordered at least three executions. Bureau Report