German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party narrowly loses elections to Social Democrats
Zee News
The center-left Social Democrats (SPD) were on track for 26.0% of the vote, ahead of 24.5% for Merkel`s CDU/CSU conservative bloc, projections for broadcaster ZDF showed, but both groups believed they could lead the next government.
BERLIN: Germany`s Social Democrats narrowly won Sunday`s national election, projected results showed, and claimed a "clear mandate" to lead a government for the first time since 2005 and to end 16 years of conservative-led rule under Angela Merkel.
The center-left Social Democrats (SPD) were on track for 26.0% of the vote, ahead of 24.5% for Merkel`s CDU/CSU conservative bloc, projections for broadcaster ZDF showed, but both groups believed they could lead the next government.
With neither major bloc commanding a majority, and both reluctant to repeat their awkward "grand coalition" of the past four years, the most likely outcome is a three-way alliance led by either the Social Democrats or Merkel`s conservatives.
