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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Merkel 'heads for' new coalition | Merkel 'heads for' new coalition |
| (11 minutes later) | |
| Chancellor Angela Merkel has been returned to power in Germany, exit polls suggest, after her conservative bloc won 33.5% of the vote. | Chancellor Angela Merkel has been returned to power in Germany, exit polls suggest, after her conservative bloc won 33.5% of the vote. |
| Mrs Merkel's CDU/CSU may have enough seats to ditch her Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners and form a centre-right alliance with the FDP. | Mrs Merkel's CDU/CSU may have enough seats to ditch her Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners and form a centre-right alliance with the FDP. |
| She has said that the new alliance will get Europe's biggest economy out of its deepest crisis since World War II. | She has said that the new alliance will get Europe's biggest economy out of its deepest crisis since World War II. |
| SPD leader Frank Walter Steinmeier admitted a "bitter defeat". | SPD leader Frank Walter Steinmeier admitted a "bitter defeat". |
| He said his party would be "vigilant in opposition". | |
| "The voters have decided and the result is a bitter day for German Social Democracy ... there is no way of talking it up - the result is a bitter defeat," the SPD leader said. | |
| The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Berlin says the result seems a disaster for the Social Democrats (SPD), who could have their lowest share of the vote since World War II. | The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Berlin says the result seems a disaster for the Social Democrats (SPD), who could have their lowest share of the vote since World War II. |
| HEWITT ON EUROPE This looks like a significant victory for Angela Merkel... Now she has more room to be bold if she chooses Read Gavin Hewitt's thoughts in full | |
| The SPD have shared power with Mrs Merkel's bloc in an awkward grand coalition since the last elections in 2005. | The SPD have shared power with Mrs Merkel's bloc in an awkward grand coalition since the last elections in 2005. |
| Preliminary results are expected in the next few hours. | Preliminary results are expected in the next few hours. |
| An exit poll for ZDF television gave the Social Democrats (SPD) 23.5% and the Free Democrats (FDP), Mrs Merkel's preferred partners, 14.5%. | An exit poll for ZDF television gave the Social Democrats (SPD) 23.5% and the Free Democrats (FDP), Mrs Merkel's preferred partners, 14.5%. |
| This would give the centre-right alliance, with 48% in total, a narrow majority over the SPD and the two other major parties, the Greens and the Left, both of which increased their share of the vote. | |
| "A black-yellow coalition looks set, we have reached our goal," said CDU general secretary Volker Kauder, quoted by AFP news agency. | "A black-yellow coalition looks set, we have reached our goal," said CDU general secretary Volker Kauder, quoted by AFP news agency. |
| ZDF TV EXIT POLL FIGURES CDU/CSU: 33.5%SPD: 23.5%FDP: 14.5%Left party: 13%Green party: 10% | |
| Exit polls in Germany, Europe's largest economy and the biggest member of the European Union, are generally considered to be extremely reliable. | Exit polls in Germany, Europe's largest economy and the biggest member of the European Union, are generally considered to be extremely reliable. |
| The campaign has been overshadowed by security concerns following a series of al-Qaeda messages warning Germany to pull some 4,200 troops out of Afghanistan. | The campaign has been overshadowed by security concerns following a series of al-Qaeda messages warning Germany to pull some 4,200 troops out of Afghanistan. |