GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel asks voters to grant her another term in office, saying she likes to "serve the people in Germany"

Record ID: 346844

  • Title: GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel asks voters to grant her another term in office, saying she likes to "serve the people in Germany"
  • Date: 19th September 2013
  • Summary: SENDING WITH FULL SCRIPT FULDA, GERMANY (SEPTEMBER 19, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL WALKING THROUGH CROWD AT RALLY PEOPLE CHEERING MERKEL ON STAGE WAVING CROWD MERKEL ON STAGE CROWD APPLAUDING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "I like doing it, I like to serve the people in Germany and I want to continue doing thi
  • Embargoed: 4th October 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General,Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVA1A99VPVD8W2JGFGZVJ4RLTATS
  • Story Text: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday (September 19) asked for voters' continued support so she could have a third term in office.
    "I like to serve the people in Germany and I want to continue doing this," she said at an election rally in Fulda.
    Merkel still looks set to secure another term in Sunday's (September 22) general election.
    While Merkel's conservatives are almost certain to come first and win her another term, two recent polls have put her coalition a point behind the combined opposition.
    If the conservatives and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) don't win a majority, she may be forced into a 'grand coalition' with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), which could take a softer line towards struggling southern euro zone countries.
    The closely watched Allensbach poll for the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily, out on Wednesday (September 18), showed the conservatives down a point at 39 percent and the FDP steady at 6 percent, giving the centre-right 45 percent.
    The combined opposition was 1 point ahead, with the SPD up a point at 26 percent, their Greens partners at 11 percent and the hardline Left at 9 percent. Because the SPD and Greens rule out a coalition with the Left, the most likely scenario is a repeat of the 'grand coalition' that Merkel led between 2005 and 2009.
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