Knives out for Sommer

NEWS Deutsche Telekom's Ron Sommer is battling to hold onto his position as CEO at the troubled telco after the German government made it known it was looking for a replacement. The German government, which holds a 43 per cent share in the telco is said to have lost faith in Sommer's managerial ability, reports the FT. Sommer's fate will be voted on at a supervisory board meeting next week. Ahead of this meeting the government has apparently been holding talks with the telco's trade union group, which controls half the seats of the supervisory board. Reports in the Wall Street Journal claim an aide to Chancellor Gerhard Schroder has approached a number of German executives - all of whom have rejected the job.