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Merkel To Seek Fourth Term As German Chancellor

Angela Merkel told top members of her party on Sunday that she wants to run for a fourth term as German chancellor in next year’s … Continue reading Merkel To Seek Fourth Term As German Chancellor


File photo: Former German Chancellor, Angela Merkel

Angela MerkelAngela Merkel told top members of her party on Sunday that she wants to run for a fourth term as German chancellor in next year’s election.

Reuters reports that senior party sources gave a hint of her plan after months of speculation about one of the world’s most powerful women.

Despite a voter backlash over her open-door migrant policy, the conservative is seen as a stabilising force in Europe amid uncertainty caused by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and the election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. president.

Merkel told leading figures in her Christian Democrat (CDU) party about her intentions at a meeting to prepare for the September election, several participants said.

Colleagues welcomed the long-awaited decision, which she is expected to announce at a news conference at 18:00 GMT.
“Angela Merkel stands for stability, reliability and thoughtfulness,” senior CDU politician, Julia Kloeckner, said.

“With her straightforward and calm nature she had led us safely through the financial and economic crises,” she told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

Merkel, 62, has steered Europe’s biggest economy through the euro zone debt crisis and has won respect internationally, for example with her efforts to help solve the Ukraine crisis. U.S. President Barack Obama last week described her as an “outstanding” ally.

With Trump’s victory in the United States and the rise in support for right-wing parties in Europe, some commentators see Merkel as a bastion of Western liberal values.