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German Chancellor Expected to Seek a Fourth Term

by VOA News

   German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to announce she will seek a
   fourth term as head of government when she meets other leaders of her
   Christian Democrats (CDU) in Berlin Sunday afternoon.

   Merkel has called a news conference for 1800 UTC (1:00 p.m. EST), a
   sign interpreted by politicians and the media that she has made up her
   mind. Her Fellow CDU politicians have previously said Merkel would run
   again.

   The 62-year-old Merkel has been widely considered a stabilizing force
   in Europe at a time of uncertainty after Britain's referendum to leave
   the European Union and the election of Donald Trump as the next U.S.
   president.

   As Germany's chancellor since 2005, Merkel has led Europe's largest
   economy through the financial and eurozone debt crises, winning
   international respect. U.S. President Barack Obama called Merkel an
   "outstanding" ally" during his visit to Germany last week, his final
   one as president. She has also been dealing with the ongoing migrant
   crisis across Europe.

   In September, Merkel surprised the country when said she wished she
   could have dealt with the migrant crisis differently, after the CDU
   suffered a major defeat in Berlin state elections, but stopped short of
   calling it a policy mistake.

   Her handling of the migrant crisis has angered many German voters,
   after she allowed nearly 1 million migrants into the country. Her
   popularity dropped and other parties gained ground in local elections,
   most notably the Alternative for Germany (AfD).

   The leader of AfD, Frauke Petry, 41, who, like Merkel, was born and
   grew up in communist East Germany, will run against her for the
   chancellor's post in 2017 elections.

   Forming as a Euro-sceptic party in 2013, the AfD won 4.7 percent of the
   popular vote in the previous federal elections in 2013, just missing
   the necessary 5 percent needed to be represented in the Bundestag.
   After developing anti-immigration policies, the party has won seats in
   every state election in Germany since 2014.

   Current polls see another "grand coalition" taking shape after
   elections in September 2017. The conservative bloc of the CDU and their
   Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union (CSU), is up 10 points over
   the Social Democrats (SPD). The three parties currently have nearly 80
   percent of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. Merkel will have to
   persuade voters to move away from the AfD in order to win.