Angela Merkel : German chancellor set for 4th term as coalition gets OK
Angela Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Bonn. (Photo: Anthony Kwan  Getty Images)
 BERLIN â German Chancellor Angela Merkel  cleared the last major hurdle on  her  path to a fourth term Sunday  after members of the center-left Social Democrats voted in favor of continuing their governing coalition with  her  conservative bloc.
âI congratulate the SPD on this clear result and look forward to continuing to work together for the good of our country â Merkelâs party quoted  her  saying on Twitter.
Had the long-time German leader faced a ânoâ result   she  would have been left with only two realistic options: forming a minority government or seeking a new election.
Parliament is expected to meet next week to elect  Merkel  as chancellor.
 Merkel  has worked since September  negotiating with rival parties to form a new government.
After Septemberâs national election  which saw the Social Democrats received just 20.5 percent of the vote and the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany party come in third place  then-Social Democratsâ leader Martin Schulz ruled out another grand coalition with  Merkel . This forced  Merkel  to negotiate with two smaller parties  one of which eventually rejected a deal.
Pressure from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier prompted Schulz to rethink and weeks of haggling between his party and Merkelâs bloc resulted in a coalition agreement. Fewer Social Democrats approved the deal this time round than in 2013  when 76 percent backed a government with  Merkel .
Many Social Democrats  particularly on the left  had argued that the party failed to make its mark on the last government and wouldnât benefit from propping up  Merkel  for another term.
[TGT] . (Photo: Anthony Kwan  Getty Images)
 BERLIN â  [TGT] cleared the last major hurdle on   [TGT]   path to a fourth term Sunday  after members of the center-left Social Democrats voted in favor of continuing their governing coalition with   [TGT]   conservative bloc.
âI congratulate the SPD on this clear result and look forward to continuing to work together for the good of our country â Merkelâs party quoted  her  saying on Twitter.
Had the long-time German leader faced a ânoâ result   she  would have been left with only two realistic options: forming a minority government or seeking a new election.
Parliament is expected to meet next week to elect   [TGT] as chancellor.
  [TGT] has worked since September  negotiating with rival parties to form a new government.
After Septemberâs national election  which saw the Social Democrats received just 20.5 percent of the vote and the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany party come in third place  then-Social Democratsâ leader Martin Schulz ruled out another grand coalition with  [TGT]  . This forced   [TGT] to negotiate with two smaller parties  one of which eventually rejected a deal.
Pressure from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier prompted Schulz to rethink and weeks of haggling between his party and Merkelâs bloc resulted in a coalition agreement. Fewer Social Democrats approved the deal this time round than in 2013  when 76 percent backed a government with  [TGT]  .
Many Social Democrats  particularly on the left  had argued that the party failed to make its mark on the last government and wouldnât benefit from propping up   [TGT] for another term.