GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel asks for voters' continued support to help her win a third successive term in office.

Record ID: 214058

  • Title: GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel asks for voters' continued support to help her win a third successive term in office.
  • Date: 20th September 2013
  • Summary: HANOVER, GERMANY (SEPTEMBER 20, 2013) (REUTERS) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, ARRIVING AT RALLY AND POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPH WITH OLD WOMAN VARIOUS OF MERKEL WALKING THROUGH CROWD PAN OVER CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT (CDU) SUPPORTERS WAVING SIGNS READING 'ANGIE' MERKEL WALKING ON STAGE AND WAVING AT SUPPORTERS WOMAN HOLDING 'ANGIE' SIGN WOMAN TAKING PHOTOGRAPH MORE OF CDU SUPPORTERS AT RALLY (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING (ASKED ABOUT HER PLANS FOR ELECTION DAY): "Election day, yes election day I will start with a breakfast. I wake up, I have breakfast and then around lunch I will be a bit anxious already, maybe I'll go out for a bit and then I will wait (moderator interrupts to ask whether she would also cast her ballot). Oh yes, sorry, I forgot (laughs), no, no no, I have announced it publicly, at 1330 (local time) I am going to vote together with my husband." UMBRELLAS AND 'ANGIE' SIGNS UMBRELLAS CDU SUPPORTERS COVERING THEIR HEADS FROM RAIN WITH 'ANGIE' SIGNS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "I would like to continue to serve the people of Germany. The stronger the mandate for me, the better I can create policies for Germany and represent our interests in Europe and also the world. I would like to do this and to make it happen I am asking you to give both ballots to the CDU, so that we can carry out good politics in Germany for you, your children, your family and friends." PAN OVER SUPPORTERS APPLAUDING MERKEL WAVING TO CROWD
  • Embargoed: 5th October 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General,Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVAAP3DQWV63OCOVRSWBR7622UMC
  • Story Text: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday (September 20) asked for voters' continued support to help her win a third successive term in office.
    But she almost forgot to mention her own vote when speaking at an election rally in Hanover. Merkel described her plans for election Sunday (September 22), almost forgetting to mention herself casting a ballot.

    "Election day, yes election day I will start with a breakfast. I wake up, I have breakfast and then around lunch I will be a bit anxious already, maybe I'll go out for a bit and then I will wait (moderator interrupts to ask whether she would also cast her ballot). Oh yes, sorry, I forgot (laughs), no, no no, I have announced it publicly, at 1330 (local time) I am going to vote together with my husband," Merkel said.
    Merkel went on to ask voters for both their ballots in the general elections. "I would like to continue to serve the people of Germany. The stronger the mandate for me, the better I can create policies for Germany and represent our interests in Europe and also the world. I would like to do this and to make it happen I am asking you to give both ballots to the CDU," she said.
    Merkel still looks set to secure another term in office from Sunday's elections. Her centre-right coalition was ahead of the combined leftist opposition by a 45-44 percent margin in an opinion poll by the Emnid institute for Bild am Sonntag newspaper when it was was released on Friday (September 20).
    The Emnid poll also showed support for the eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) party unchanged at 4 percent, or just below the 5 percent threshold needed to win seats in parliament.
    The Emnid poll found the centre-right coalition at 45 percent with Merkel's conservatives steady on 39 percent and the Free Democrat (FDP) coalition partners gaining 1 point to 6 percent since the last Emnid poll published on Sept. 15.
    The main opposition Social Democrats (SPD) were unchanged at 26 percent while their allies, the environmentalist Greens, were down 1 point to 9 percent. The hardline Left party was unchanged at 9 percent in the poll.
    Other polls published on Friday and this week point to a tight result on Sunday, increasing the likelihood of a Merkel-led right-left "grand coalition" government. Forsa and the Allensbach institutes, in separate polls on Friday, showed the centre-right at level pegging with the leftist opposition.
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