{{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.}}
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).
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.
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.
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.
“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.
“They have reduced our debts significantly, brought us through the euro zone and financial crises successfully and the economy has recovered,” he said.
Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, has presided over a robust economy and booming labor market.
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.
The SPD’s Steinbrueck, a 66-year-old former finance minister, voted in the former West German capital Bonn.
“I feel very good … Now it is finally time for the voters to decide,” he told reporters.
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.
reuters
Leave a Reply