Angela Merkel Elected Chancellor of Germany for the Fourth Time

Angela Merkel has been elected as Chancellor of Germany for the fourth time after receiving votes from the German parliament. Her introduction as Chancellor comes six months after the parliamentary elections, during which her attempts to form a coalition government were unsuccessful. Merkel, who previously served as Chancellor in 2005, 2009, and 2013, was informally recognized as Chancellor following the victory of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union in the September 2017 elections. However, she failed to form a coalition cabinet with the Free Democratic Party and the Greens, and eventually succeeded in forming a coalition with the Social Democratic Party. On Wednesday, March 14, she needed to secure more than half of the votes from the German parliament representatives to be officially introduced as Chancellor by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the President of Germany. The official German news agency reported that she managed to obtain 364 votes in favor out of 688 total votes, needing at least 355 votes to become Chancellor. However, her supportive votes were 35 less than the total of 399 representatives from the Social Democrats, Christian Social Union, and Christian Democrats present in parliament. The total number of representatives in the German parliament, the Bundestag, is 709. The coalition parties in Germany, which include the Christian Social Union, Christian Democrats, and Social Democrats, hold more than 399 seats in the Bundestag. Merkel needed at least 355 votes in favor. She will be sworn in as Chancellor today at 12 PM local time along with her new cabinet at the office of the President of Germany, and after being endorsed by Steinmeier, she will officially begin her duties. The French news agency also reported that after the announcement of the parliamentary voting results, Merkel told Wolfgang Schäuble, the President of Parliament, that she accepts the result. In today's parliamentary ceremony, Joachim Sauer, Merkel's husband, and her 89-year-old mother were also present. In the six months following the elections, although Germany did not face a serious crisis, the issue of forming a coalition government remained the most important topic in the country's media. The unexpected result for the Social Democratic Party in the September elections led Martin Schulz, the party leader, to reject any coalition with Merkel. However, the failure to form a coalition government among the winning parties, the Greens, and the Liberals prompted the intervention of the President of Germany to resolve this political crisis. After Schulz's meeting with Steinmeier and the change in the Social Democrats' stance regarding a coalition with Merkel, a long process developed within the party itself and an agreement between the parties on the division of ministries was reached, ultimately leading to the end of the political deadlock in the country. The Social Democratic Party of Germany has proposed three women and three men as ministers for the new coalition cabinet. Olaf Scholz, the Deputy Chancellor and Minister of Finance of the new cabinet, is one of the most important of these ministers. Hubertus Heil has been appointed as Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Heiko Maas, the former Minister of Justice, as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Katarina Barley as Minister of Justice. Franziska Giffey, the Minister of Family Affairs, and Sonia Schlotze will also oversee the Ministry of Environment. The rise of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party has been cited as one of the reasons for the decline in votes for conservative parties in the country, including Merkel's party. In this parliamentary election, this party managed to secure 94 parliamentary seats and became the third-largest party in the country for the first time. The formation of a coalition government in Germany was also welcomed by Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, who has repeatedly expressed concern about the rise of right-wing parties in Europe.