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Monday 25 SepteMber 2017

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Merkel wins 4th term but nationalists surge in German vote

By GEIR MOULSON and DA- lost all their seats four years
VID RISING ago.
Associated Press “In a country that is big on
BERLIN (AP) — German schadenfreude, our come-
Chancellor Angela Merkel back is an encouraging
won a fourth term Sunday, message — after failure, a
but now faces the tricky new beginning is possible,”
prospect of forming a co- party leader Christian Lind-
alition with two disparate ner told supporters.
new partners after voters The Left Party and the tradi-
weakened her conserva- tionally left-leaning Greens
tives and a nationalist, an- won about 9 percent sup-
ti-migrant party surged into port each, completing a
parliament. parliament that now has
Merkel’s center-left chal- six caucuses rather than
lenger, Martin Schulz, the previous four.
conceded that his Social All mainstream parties
Democrats had suffered a have ruled out working
“crushing election defeat,” with AfD and Merkel’s con-
with projections showing servatives won’t form a co-
the party’s worst perfor- alition with the Left Party.
mance in post-World War II That means two politically
Germany. German Chancellor Angela Merkel smiles at the headquarters of the Christian Democratic Union plausible governments are
He vowed to take his par- CDU in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017 after the German parliament election. mathematically feasible:
Associated Press
ty, the junior partner in continuing the “grand co-
Merkel’s outgoing “grand traditionally dominant par- “We have a mandate to and promising to “chase” alition” or a combination
coalition” of Germany’s ties, into opposition. form a new government, Merkel. of Merkel’s Union bloc,
and no government can Projections for ARD and ZDF the Free Democrats and
be formed against us,” public television, based on Greens.
Merkel told cheering sup- exit polls and partial count- That alliance is known as
porters. She added that it ing, showed Merkel’s Chris- a “Jamaica” coalition be-
wasn’t a “matter of course” tian Democratic Union and cause the parties’ colors
to finish first after 12 years in their Bavaria-only allies, the match those of the Carib-
power, and that the past Christian Social Union, win- bean nation’s flag. It has
four years were “extremely ning around 33 percent of been tried, with mixed re-
challenging.” the vote — down from 41.5 sults, in state governments
Stressing that “we live in percent four years ago. It but never in a national
stormy times” internation- was one of their weakest government.
ally, she declared: “I have post-war showings. The Social Democrats were
the intention of achieving Schulz’s Social Democrats adamant Sunday night
a stable government in were trailing far behind, that they wouldn’t contin-
Germany.” with just under 21 percent ue to serve under Merkel.
The biggest winner was support, down from 25.7 “It is completely clear that
the four-year-old Alterna- percent in 2013 and under- the role the voters have
tive for Germany, or AfD. It cutting their previous post- given us is as the opposi-
finished third after a cam- war low of 23 percent eight tion,” Schulz said.
paign that centered on years ago. Referring to AfD’s third-
shrill criticism of Merkel and AfD won just over 13 per- place finish, he said “there
her decision in 2015 to al- cent of the vote, accord- cannot be a far-right par-
low large numbers of mi- ing to the projections. It ty leading the opposition
grants into Germany, but was followed by the elec- in Germany.”Cobbling
also harnessed wider dis- tion’s other big winner together a “Jamaica”
content with established — the pro-business Free coalition is likely to be
politicians. Democratic Party, which time-consuming. The Free
One of AfD’s leaders, Alice returned to parliament af- Democrats and Greens
Weidel, said it will provide ter a four-year break with are traditional rivals. Four
“constructive opposition.” about 10.5 percent. years ago, Merkel’s con-
But co-leader Alexander The Free Democrats were servatives and the Greens
Gauland struck a harsher Merkel’s coalition partners held exploratory talks on
tone, vowing that “we will in her second-term govern- a two-party coalition but
take our country back” ment from 2009-2013, but they came to nothing.