The Bundestag on Wednesday, nearly six months after the parliamentary elections, elected Angela Merkel as the new German Chancellor, after which the government oath should follow at the hands of the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
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“Mr. President of the Bundestag, I accept this election,” Merkel said after Bundestag President Wolfgang Schaeuble announced the results of the Bundestag representatives’ voting.
A total of 364 representatives voted for Angela Merkel, which is significantly less than the 399 held by the Christian Democratic-Social Democratic coalition. It is assumed that the most resistance comes from the ranks of Merkel’s smaller coalition partner, the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which hesitated until the last moment about entering into a coalition with the Christian Democrats.
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Angela Merkel, along with government members, is expected to take the oath of office at noon.
