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| Merkel to Seek 4th Term as Germany’s Leader | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, under siege domestically and widely seen as a pillar of Western liberalism, will stand for a fourth term next year. | |
| Since the election of Donald J. Trump as president in the United States, speculation had mounted that Ms. Merkel would bow to pressure to stand for election again and uphold liberal values in a world transformed by Mr. Trump’s victory and Britain’s vote last summer to leave the European Union. | Since the election of Donald J. Trump as president in the United States, speculation had mounted that Ms. Merkel would bow to pressure to stand for election again and uphold liberal values in a world transformed by Mr. Trump’s victory and Britain’s vote last summer to leave the European Union. |
| Ms. Merkel’s decision was reported widely by the German news media and confirmed by a lawmaker from her Christian Democratic party . The party leaders were meeting on Sunday, and Ms. Merkel was due to hold a news conference later in the day. . | |
| Ms. Merkel, 62, has served 11 years as chancellor. She is the first woman and the first leader raised in Communist East Germany to hold the post. | Ms. Merkel, 62, has served 11 years as chancellor. She is the first woman and the first leader raised in Communist East Germany to hold the post. |
| Since coming to power in 2005, Ms. Merkel, a scientist by training, has gradually acquired a political stature commensurate with the power of her country, Europe’s largest economy and most populous nation, with about 81 million inhabitants. | Since coming to power in 2005, Ms. Merkel, a scientist by training, has gradually acquired a political stature commensurate with the power of her country, Europe’s largest economy and most populous nation, with about 81 million inhabitants. |
| But her image as the cautious caretaker of her country’s interests has suffered over the past year, after she opened Germany to hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers, many of them Muslim refugees fleeing wars in the Middle East and Africa. | But her image as the cautious caretaker of her country’s interests has suffered over the past year, after she opened Germany to hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers, many of them Muslim refugees fleeing wars in the Middle East and Africa. |
| The prospect of integrating almost 1 million newcomers into Germany has weakened Ms. Merkel’s standing at home, while garnering praise particularly from President Obama. | The prospect of integrating almost 1 million newcomers into Germany has weakened Ms. Merkel’s standing at home, while garnering praise particularly from President Obama. |
| Visiting Berlin this past week, Mr. Obama lavished compliments on his longest-standing ally in his eight years in office, saying that if he were German, he would vote for her. | Visiting Berlin this past week, Mr. Obama lavished compliments on his longest-standing ally in his eight years in office, saying that if he were German, he would vote for her. |
| Ms. Merkel, who is known for her patience and low-key style, responded to the election of Mr. Trump with a robust appeal for him to stick to Western values and respect human dignity. This, she said, was the basis of any close cooperation. | Ms. Merkel, who is known for her patience and low-key style, responded to the election of Mr. Trump with a robust appeal for him to stick to Western values and respect human dignity. This, she said, was the basis of any close cooperation. |
| At the same time, even as commentators and leaders outside Germany invoked her stature, Ms. Merkel has been characteristically eager not to hog the limelight. | At the same time, even as commentators and leaders outside Germany invoked her stature, Ms. Merkel has been characteristically eager not to hog the limelight. |
| “One person alone can never solve everything,” she said on Friday at a news conference with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain. “We are strong only together. In that, I want to do what my duty is as chancellor.” | “One person alone can never solve everything,” she said on Friday at a news conference with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain. “We are strong only together. In that, I want to do what my duty is as chancellor.” |
| Speculation over Ms. Merkel’s decision has been rife since Mr. Trump’s election, which leading commentators and members of her Christian Democratic Union said would force her to stand, even if she was reluctant. | Speculation over Ms. Merkel’s decision has been rife since Mr. Trump’s election, which leading commentators and members of her Christian Democratic Union said would force her to stand, even if she was reluctant. |
| In the days before a meeting of her party leadership on Sunday, several Christian Democrats said that the next parliamentary elections, due in fall 2017, would be difficult to win with Ms. Merkel, but impossible to win without her. | In the days before a meeting of her party leadership on Sunday, several Christian Democrats said that the next parliamentary elections, due in fall 2017, would be difficult to win with Ms. Merkel, but impossible to win without her. |
| Politics in this conservative and comparatively wealthy country has been thrown into turmoil by the rise of the populist, right-wing Alternative for Germany party. | Politics in this conservative and comparatively wealthy country has been thrown into turmoil by the rise of the populist, right-wing Alternative for Germany party. |
| It is now in 10 of the country’s 16 state parliaments and seems certain to win seats in the federal Parliament next year. That would scramble conventional coalition building, since no mainstream party has been willing to govern with the populists. | It is now in 10 of the country’s 16 state parliaments and seems certain to win seats in the federal Parliament next year. That would scramble conventional coalition building, since no mainstream party has been willing to govern with the populists. |
| Frauke Petry, one of the leaders of Alternative for Germany, criticized the idea of Ms. Merkel’s gaining another four years in office. “Germany cannot afford another term for Angela Merkel,” Ms. Petry wrote on Twitter. | |
| Ms. Merkel’s role as a beacon of liberal values may also be dented by the power of populism elsewhere in Europe, whose union has been thrown into ever greater doubt since Britain, the continent’s leading military power, voted in June to leave the European Union. | Ms. Merkel’s role as a beacon of liberal values may also be dented by the power of populism elsewhere in Europe, whose union has been thrown into ever greater doubt since Britain, the continent’s leading military power, voted in June to leave the European Union. |
| Next month, Italy votes on constitutional reforms that Prime Minister Matteo Renzi considers crucial to his country’s modernity. Austria will choose a president in an election plagued by delays, and may see the first far-right politician elected as head of state in modern Europe. | Next month, Italy votes on constitutional reforms that Prime Minister Matteo Renzi considers crucial to his country’s modernity. Austria will choose a president in an election plagued by delays, and may see the first far-right politician elected as head of state in modern Europe. |
| The Netherlands, France and Germany all hold key elections next year, with the ballot in France in particular being closely watched as a bellwether for the strength of populism as embodied by the National Front of Marine Le Pen. | The Netherlands, France and Germany all hold key elections next year, with the ballot in France in particular being closely watched as a bellwether for the strength of populism as embodied by the National Front of Marine Le Pen. |
| Speaking in Berlin last week, Prime Minister Manuel Valls of France predicted that “Europe can die” as a result of the populist wave and economic and political dissonance in the 28-nation European Union. | Speaking in Berlin last week, Prime Minister Manuel Valls of France predicted that “Europe can die” as a result of the populist wave and economic and political dissonance in the 28-nation European Union. |
| Ms. Merkel has guided Germany and, increasingly, Europe though myriad crises. | |
| She was chancellor during the 2008 financial crisis, and was much criticized for German insistence on austerity during the Greek debt crisis and the subsequent pressure on the euro. Since Russia flexed its military muscle by seizing Crimea and meddling in Ukraine in 2014, Ms. Merkel has been the main Western interlocutor for President Vladimir V. Putin. | |
| Ms. Merkel has also led her country to abandon nuclear power and moved her conservative party firmly to the center on social policy. |