Word: merkel
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...Tonight we can celebrate, but after that there is much work waiting for us, and many problems to solve." That sentiment is a reliable standard for victorious politicians seeking to temper triumphalist election-night speeches with a little humility. But as Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged her party's win in parliamentary elections in Germany on Sept. 27, she had especially good reason to caution against overexuberance. Her Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) had secured another four-year term as the senior partner in a ruling coalition. And thanks to big gains by the center-right Free Democrats (FDP), who espouse economic liberalism...
There is certainly work waiting. One of Merkel's greatest achievements in her first term was to hold together a grand coalition with her rivals and natural ideological opponents, the SPD. She did so through compromise and caution. As the world weathered economic storms and rapid social change, the German government responded slowly and carefully. (See pictures of world leaders including Merkel on vacation...
...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...
...Merkel's victory speech, she emphasized her intention to be a "Chancellor to all Germans." If she meant this as a warning that she intends to resist her new partner's tax-cutting agenda, Westerwelle won't be happy. The final shape of the new government won't emerge until after a period of horse-trading and a vote in the Bundestag, probably in a week or two, to confirm Merkel as Chancellor. Westerwelle, despite his focus on economics, is expected to become Foreign Minister, the traditional role for the leader of the junior coalition party. The biggest foreign policy...
Westerwelle, like Merkel, looked for a sober tone as he addressed supporters. "We are ready to accept the responsibility," he said. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the defeated SPD leader, sounded abject: "The voters have spoken. It's a bitter day for Germany's Social Democrats. It's a bitter result...