{{Germans voted on Sunday in an election expected to hand Chancellor Angela Merkel a third four-year term, but she may be forced into an awkward coalition with her leftist rivals following a surge in support for a new anti-euro party.}}<\/p>\n
Europe is closely watching Germany’s first national election since the eruption of the euro zone debt crisis in 2009. Some hope Merkel will take a softer stance on struggling euro states such as Greece if she is pushed into a so-called grand coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD).<\/p>\n
But major policy shifts seem unlikely because the center-left SPD, whose campaign stalled after a gaffe-prone start by its lead candidate Peer Steinbrueck, agrees with the thrust of Merkel’s approach even as it accuses her of weak leadership.<\/p>\n
The most recent opinion polls show support for Merkel’s conservative bloc – her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) – at around 39 percent, about 13 points ahead of the SPD, the second-biggest party.<\/p>\n
That virtually guarantees that Merkel, whose staunch defense of German interests during the crisis has sent her approval ratings soaring over 60 percent, will stay on as chancellor.<\/p>\n
“I voted for CDU because they’re a serious party and in the last eight years they’ve really moved the country forward,” said policeman Jochen Anders, 58, after casting his ballot in Berlin.<\/p>\n
“They have reduced our debts significantly, brought us through the euro zone and financial crises successfully and the economy has recovered,” he said.<\/p>\n
Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, has presided over a robust economy and booming labor market. <\/p>\n
The 59-year-old’s “step by step” leadership style is criticized abroad as too timid but applauded by many at home, where she was cheered as “Mutti”, or Mum, on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n
The SPD’s Steinbrueck, a 66-year-old former finance minister, voted in the former West German capital Bonn.<\/p>\n
“I feel very good … Now it is finally time for the voters to decide,” he told reporters.<\/p>\n
The first exit polls will be published at 6 p.m. (12 noon EDT). Of the 62 million Germans eligible to vote, out of a population of 80 million, about a third described themselves in the run-up to the election as undecided, adding to the uncertainty.<\/p>\n
reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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