Word: fdp
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...built a career on defying her critics. On Sunday, she did it again, leading the Christian Democrats to a victory that sets her party up as the head of a new center-right government. But the CDU's probable coalition partner, the pro-business, liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), could end up being a thorn in her side, especially if, as is likely, the smaller party pushes a reform agenda that challenges Merkel's slow and steady style...
...FDP scored its best ever result in Sunday's election, winning 15% of the vote; after 11 years in opposition, the party is finally back in government. "We will now co-govern Germany," Guido Westerwelle, the leader of the FDP, told a crowd of supporters at an election night rally in Berlin on Sunday. "We want a fair tax system, better education opportunities and we want to ensure that citizens' rights are respected," he said. (See pictures of world leaders including Merkel on vacation...
...During the campaign, Westerwelle pledged to cut taxes and simplify Germany's tax code - regarded as one of the most convoluted in Europe. The FDP leader says the goal is simple: more money in the pockets of workers. Lower taxes, the party says, will increase tax revenues by providing more incentive to work and boosting growth. Pushed by the CDU's sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), Merkel has already promised to cut taxes, but she cleverly avoided mentioning any date. The issue is likely to define the new government - either because Merkel and company carry out reforms...
...allies are likely to inspire more ambitious change. Top of the pile of unfinished business: nurturing and revitalizing a torpid economy, the world's fourth largest. Under the influence of her SPD partners, Merkel intervened to preserve jobs in big industries. Guido Westerwelle, the FDP's leader, and future deputy to Merkel in the new coalition, believes too little has been done to look after the interests of Germany's Mittelstand, its small- and medium-size businesses. He told TIME in a recent interview that some German stimulus measures had been ill-conceived. "You can sign 100 stimulus programs...
...dissidents. And Merkel's win, though slim, secures her against critics in her party, who might have sought to topple her. Christian Bachmann, 37, a hospital doctor and Christian Democrat supporter, proclaims himself "happy with the result." He adds, "To be quite honest, I don't mind the FDP ending up so strong. This may give the CDU/CSU room for a little bit more creativity." His fellow Christian Democrat Klaus Pump, 80, is also content. "The most important thing is that we have a change of government," he says. "The Reds - the SPD - have gone down quite spectacularly. However...