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| Merkel 'heads for' new coalition | Merkel 'heads for' new coalition |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Chancellor Angela Merkel has been returned to power in Germany, exit polls suggest, after her conservative bloc won more than 33% of the vote. | Chancellor Angela Merkel has been returned to power in Germany, exit polls suggest, after her conservative bloc won more than 33% of the vote. |
| Mrs Merkel told supporters they had achieved "something magnificent", but said she wanted to be a chancellor of all Germans at a moment of crisis. | Mrs Merkel told supporters they had achieved "something magnificent", but said she wanted to be a chancellor of all Germans at a moment of crisis. |
| Mrs Merkel's bloc now looks set to form a centre-right alliance with her preferred partner, the pro-reform FDP. | Mrs Merkel's bloc now looks set to form a centre-right alliance with her preferred partner, the pro-reform FDP. |
| She says the alliance will get Germany out of its worst crisis in 60 years. | She says the alliance will get Germany out of its worst crisis in 60 years. |
| Her rival, SPD leader Frank Walter Steinmeier, admitted a "bitter defeat". | Her rival, SPD leader Frank Walter Steinmeier, admitted a "bitter defeat". |
| He said his party would be "vigilant in opposition". | He said his party would be "vigilant in opposition". |
| See a breakdown of what parties got, based on German TV exit pollIn detail | |
| "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 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. |
| The SPD have shared power with Mrs Merkel's CDU/CSU in an awkward grand coalition since the last elections in 2005. | The SPD have shared power with Mrs Merkel's CDU/CSU 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 CDU/CSU 33.5%, SPD 23.5% and the FDP, Mrs Merkel's preferred partners, 14.5%. | An exit poll for ZDF television gave the CDU/CSU 33.5%, SPD 23.5% and the 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. | 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. |
| "We have achieved our goal of gaining a stable majority for a new government," a smiling Mrs Merkel told cheering supporters in Berlin. | "We have achieved our goal of gaining a stable majority for a new government," a smiling Mrs Merkel told cheering supporters in Berlin. |
| 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 | |
| "I want to be the chancellor of all Germans, so that things improve for our country, especially in such a moment of crisis." | "I want to be the chancellor of all Germans, so that things improve for our country, especially in such a moment of crisis." |
| FDP leader Guido Westerwelle said the new government would act "responsibly". | |
| "Now the work starts for real...for Germany and our people," he said. | |
| 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. |