- Title: Germans share mixed views on chancellor Merkel running for 4th term
- Date: 20th November 2016
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (NOVEMBER 20, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING NEAR BRANDENBURG GATE (SOUNDBITE) (German) MAN FROM BERLIN, KLAUS MOENCH, SAYING: "It's ok, I can live with it, even though I'm not a fan of the CDU (Christian Democrats party). But I think Mrs. Merkel is preferable, I don't see any alternatives to her at the moment." (SOUNDBITE) (German) MAN FROM WUEPPERTAL, HOLGER RAUSER, SAYING: "I think she's still the best compared to the people the other parties have. [Journalist asking what she has that the others don't.] A certain authority, and a way of thinking about the world economy and politics that is good for Europe, for Strasbourg and Brussels. The others don't have the charisma, and certainly don't have the understanding." (SOUNDBITE) (German) MAN FROM HAMBURG, KLAUS BEZIKOFR, SAYING: "Well, she hasn't exactly been getting stronger recently, we can see that clearly. So it's certainly the case that her great strength in the past years has been somewhat lost recently. The question really is how she will position herself to deal with the quite dramatic problems we have at the moment. But again, out of the options that are there - and somebody has to be chancellor! - then I think she is the most sensible candidate." (SOUNDBITE) (German) WOMAN FROM DUESSELDORF, CHRISTINE WUENSCH, SAYING: "I think it was right to help the refugees. Of course there were some problems but there always are. I think it's great that we are helping people so I think that was a very important step." (SOUNDBITE) (German) MAN FROM BERLIN, ECKEHARD MENNICKE, SAYING: "I don't think it's very good. I think it's better in America that after two terms you have to have somebody new, not always the same person [woman heard saying: "So you get something fresh."]. Exactly." (SOUNDBITE) (German) MAN FROM LANDAU, PETER BUECHNER, SAYING: "I don't see anybody who could do it better. There aren't any alternatives. And she hasn't done such a bad job." PEOPLE WALKING VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS OUTSIDE CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS (CDU) HEADQUARTERS CDU LOGO VARIOUS OF CARS ARRIVING HIRE BIKES WITH "HALLO FRAU MERKEL" WRITTEN ON THEM CDU DEPUTY CHAIRMAN ARMIN LASCHET ARRIVING CAMERAS (SOUNDBITE) (German) CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS (CDU) DEPUTY CHAIRMAN, ARMIN LASCHET, SAYING: "I think... we have heard lots of praise from abroad recently, in Europe, in the crises across the world. I think it's important that we have somebody who can hold our society together, who can build bridges and bring people back. So I would want her to continue as chancellor from 2017 and many people across the country are of the same opinion." VARIOUS OF LASCHET TALKING TO REPORTERS LASCHET ENTERING BUILDING
- Embargoed: 5th December 2016 14:00
- Keywords: Angela Merkel chancellor fourth term reactions vox pops public opinion Armin Laschet
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001598ZZUV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Angela Merkel told top members of her party on Sunday (November 20) that she wants to run for a fourth term as German chancellor in next year's election, senior party sources told Reuters, after months of speculation about one of the world's most powerful women.
Despite a voter backlash over her open-door migrant policy, the conservative is seen as a stabilising force in Europe amid uncertainty caused by Britain's vote to leave the European Union and the election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. president.
Merkel told leading figures in her Christian Democrats (CDU) party in Berlin on Sunday about her intentions, several participants said. The meeting is to prepare for a party conference in December, the last before the election.
On the streets of Berlin, German voters had mixed views about the news that Merkel would run again.
"I can live with it, even though I'm not a fan of the CDU. But I think Mrs. Merkel is preferable, I don't see any alternatives to her at the moment," local resident Klaus Moench told Reuters.
Klaus Bezikofr from Hamburg said that Merkel was still "the most sensible" candidate, even if she had become less popular recently.
But Eckehard Mennicke from Landau disagreed.
"I don't think it's very good. I think it's better in America that after two terms you have to have somebody new, not always the same person," he said.
Merkel is due to hold a news conference at 1800 GMT on Sunday, after a meeting with other CDU leaders to prepare for a party conference in December.
On his way to the meeting, CDU deputy chairman Armin Laschet said Merkel was the right woman for the job.
"I think it's important that we have somebody who can hold our society together, who can build bridges and bring people back. So I would want her to continue as chancellor from 2017 and many people across the country are of the same opinion," he said.
Some 55 percent of Germans want Merkel to serve a fourth term, with 39 percent against, an Emnid poll published in the Bild am Sonntag newspaper showed on Sunday.
Merkel, 62, has steered Europe's biggest economy through the financial crisis and the euro zone debt crisis and has won respect internationally - U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday (November 17) described her as an "outstanding" ally.
With Trump's victory in the United States and the rise in support for right-wing parties in Europe, some commentators see Merkel as a bastion of Western liberal values.
However, her decision last year to open Germany's borders to around 900,000 migrants, mostly from war zones in the Middle East, angered many voters at home and hit her personal ratings. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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