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Angela Merkel injured in skiing accident Angela Merkel injured in skiing accident
(35 minutes later)
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has fractured her pelvis during a skiing holiday in Switzerland, forcing her to cancel meetings for the next three weeks. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has fractured her pelvis during a skiing holiday in Switzerland, forcing her to cancel several meetings and trips scheduled over the next three weeks.
Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said on Monday the chancellor had suffered a fall while cross-country skiing in Engadin in the Swiss Alps. It was thought at first she had just suffered bruising but doctors later determined it was a partial fracture of the left interior pelvic ring. Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said on Monday the chancellor had suffered a fall while cross-country skiing in Engadin near St Moritz in the Swiss Alps. Merkel at first thought she had just suffered bruising, but doctors later determined it was a partial fracture of the left interior pelvic ring.
Seibert told reporters Merkel was walking with the help of crutches and would need to cancel a number of official appointments but would continue to lead the government and hold cabinet meetings. Seibert told reporters Merkel was walking with the help of crutches and would need to cancel a number of official appointments but was planning to attend Wednesday's cabinet meeting in person. The meeting is the first gathering of all ministers in the new "grand coalition" cabinet made up of Merkel's Christian Democratic party and the Social Democratic party.
Merkel had originally planned to visit Poland and meet the new prime minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, in Berlin this week.Merkel had originally planned to visit Poland and meet the new prime minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, in Berlin this week.
Merkel will lead a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, which will be the first gathering of all ministers in the new "grand coalition" government of her conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats, which was formalised last month. In what seemed to be an allusion to the debate over Formula One champion Michael Schumacher's much more severe skiing accident last week, Seibert said: "we are assuming she was travelling at low speed". On social media, some criticised the joking tone of the remark.
Seibert said Merkel's fall occurred "at low speeds" but was unable to say if another person was involved. In what seemed to be a reference to the debate over Formula One champion Michael Schumacher's much more severe skiing accident last Sunday, Seibert said: "We are assuming she was travelling at low speed." The lighthearted tone of the remark drew criticism on social media. Merkel had set off the weekend before Christmas to St Moritz, where she has been spending her holidays for years. At the time, gossip magazine Bunte published an article claiming that the chancellor had used the same pair of cross-country skis for over 20 years, quoting the manufacturer urging her to buy a new pair: "After about 10 years, our skis noticeably lose their tension."
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