Germany’s Merkel launches re-election campaign calling for center-right government

September 30th, 2009 Exit polls: Merkel riding high in German electionBERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel was on track to win a second term and form a new center-right government in Sunday's election and her center-left rivals were headed for a historic defeat, exit polls indicated. Merkel, a conservative, was seeking to end her "grand coalition" with the center-left Social Democrats of challenger Frank-Walter Steinmeier and form a government with the pro-business Free Democrats instead.

September 26th, 2009 German politicians stage last campaign ralliesBERLIN — Germany's political parties are holding final rallies for national elections after Islamic militants warned of retribution for the country's presence in Afghanistan. Germany holds national elections on Sunday and Chancellor Angela Merkel hopes to be returned for a second term in office.

September 24th, 2009 Germany's Merkel wins voters with low-key styleBERLIN — A decade ago, Angela Merkel was known to Germans mainly for a famously bad haircut that made her the butt of jokes. Today, as Germany's chancellor, she's widely considered the most powerful woman on the planet — and she's the one making the jokes.

September 22nd, 2009 Germany's 'grand coalition' may survive electionBERLIN — It's the most-avoided issue in Germany's election campaign, but chances are good that Chancellor Angela Merkel could be leading another "grand coalition" of the country's biggest parties after Sunday's vote. Merkel, a conservative, is campaigning for a new center-right government to end her four-year-old alliance with the center-left Social Democrats and give the country a clearer direction.

September 21st, 2009 German conservatives push tax relief ahead of voteBERLIN — A conservative ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel called Monday for quick tax relief if Germany's election produces a new center-right government, while her main rivals said tax cuts would be irresponsible. Merkel hopes to break out of her "grand coalition" with the center-left Social Democrats in Sunday's vote and take her conservatives into a new government with the pro-business Free Democrats.

September 18th, 2009 Polls: Merkel on track for new German coalitionBERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel drew encouragement Friday from polls that showed her on track to form a new center-right government after Germany's national election, and pushed her agenda of tax relief to stimulate growth. The conservative Merkel wants to break free from her "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats, led by her rival, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, after the Sept.

September 13th, 2009 Germany ponders Afghanistan exit strategyBERLIN — Germany's foreign minister on Sunday advocated laying the foundations by 2013 for an eventual withdrawal from Afghanistan. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who he is challenging in elections later this month, said it makes sense to exert pressure on Kabul to ensure progress.

September 13th, 2009 Germany's Merkel faces challenger in TV debateBERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced her challenger in a televised debate two weeks before elections, arguing Sunday that the country needs a new center-right government to guide Europe's biggest economy out of the financial crisis. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is opposing Merkel in the Sept.

September 12th, 2009 Germany's Merkel, Steinmeier in live TV debateBERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces off in a live television debate Sunday night against challenger Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who needs a strong performance to lift his struggling center-left party's prospects two weeks before elections. The prime-time debate is being shown on four public and private channels.

August 31st, 2009 Merkel confident for Germany's Sept 27. electionBERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday she is confident of forming a new center-right government after the nationwide election Sept.

August 25th, 2009 Playing it safe: Merkel conducts serene campaignBERLIN — Angela Merkel nearly campaigned herself to a shock election defeat in 2005. This year, she is running a low-key, almost genteel campaign and it's paying off — she's leading the polls as Germany prepares to vote Sept.

June 18th, 2009 Obama meets Germany's Merkel next weekWASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet in Washington on June 26. The formal announcement said the president "looks forward to welcoming" the German leader for discussions "on a broad agenda of global issues of mutual concern." Merkel has been critical of some Obama policies as he tries to pull the United States out of the deep economic recession.

June 8th, 2009 Merkel party wins German vote; rival embarrassedBERLIN — Germans handed a lackluster victory to Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and a historically heavy defeat to their center-left rivals in Sunday's European Parliament vote, months before a national election. The outcome, a center-right majority, was enough to boost Merkel's hopes of ending the tense left-right "grand coalition" that has led the European Union's most populous nation since 2005 and replacing it with a center-right government.

June 7th, 2009 Merkel ahead in German EU vote; rivals embarrassedBERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives were headed for a center-right majority and her center-left rivals for a historically heavy defeat in Sunday's European Parliament election, according to projections. Four months before Germany holds its own national election, the outcome boosted Merkel's hopes of ending the tense left-right "grand coalition" that has led the European Union's most populous nation since 2005.

January 19th, 2009 BERLIN - On the eve of the inauguration of Barack Obama as US president, German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent a warning to the US against the temptation to fall back on protectionist trade policies as a way out of the global financial crisis. Speaking at a meeting of the National Association of German Industry (BDI) in Berlin, Merkel said that after the excesses of the recent past, especially in financial markets, it was time to set up a global regulatory system which contains the essential elements of a social market economy.