German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed Sunday the “super result” of her center-right party’s victory in the national election, but said it is too soon to discuss what coalition she will form.
Television exit polls showed Merkel's conservative bloc - the Christian Democratic Union and Bavarian Christian Social Union -- on 42 to 42.5 percent, which if confirmed would be their strongest score since 1990, when Helmut Kohl rode to re-election on reunifying he country.
"Dear friends, your cheers show that we've all got something to celebrate about,” Merkel said at CDU headquarters in Berlin, according to Reuters. That's a super result. First of all, I'd like to thank the voters who put such overwhelming faith in our conservative parties. And I'd like to promise the voters that we will act responsibly and with great care. Thank you very much."
The strong CDU showing gives the conservatives a chance of securing an absolute majority on their own, which would be a historic success for the 59-year-old Merkel, whose steady leadership during the euro zone crisis has made her hugely popular at home. But the survival of her center-right coalition with the Free Democrats was in question, with the business-friendly party on 4.7 percent, shy of 5 percent mark needed to remain in parliament.
Adding to the uncertainty was a new euroskeptic party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which stood at 4.9 percent, just a whisper below the threshold needed to enter the Bundestag. Support for the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) stood at 26 percent, the environmentalist Greens were on 8 percent and the hard-line Left party, including ex-Communists, was at 8.5 percent.
Short of her own majority and barring a late bounce for the FDP, Merkel will almost certainly have to enter coalition talks with the SPD, with whom she ruled between 2005 and 2009.
Angela Merkel Wins German Election For Third Term
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