Merkel Re-Elected to Third Term

New York Times: “Chancellor Angela Merkel scored a stunning personal triumph Sunday in the national elections in Germany, becoming the only major leader to be re-elected twice since the financial crisis of 2008 and winning a strong popular endorsement for her mix of austerity and solidarity in managing troubled Europe.”

“The surprising show of strength for the chancellor and her center-right Christian Democrats — even their own polls had not suggested such a result — was just short of an absolute majority, according to preliminary official results published on Monday. No chancellor has achieved an absolute majority since Konrad Adenauer in 1957.”

Wall Street Journal: “A so-called grand coalition with the center-left Social Democrats, who finished a distant second in Sunday’s poll, appeared to be Ms. Merkel’s most likely option. Such a pairing would send a strong signal to the rest of Europe that Germany remains fully committed to the euro despite a better-than-expected showing by the upstart Alternative for Germany, which wants to break up the common currency.”