Merkel Back From Brink to Assert Control Amid German Defeats
- Chancellor’s counteroffensive feeds talk she’ll run again
- Party ally satisfied with talks aimed at healing divisions
German Chancellor and Chairwoman of the German Christian Democrats (CDU) Angela Merkel speaks to the media the day after Berlin state elections on Sept. 19, in Berlin.
Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty ImagesAfter a run of electoral defeats and government strife, this is the week that Angela Merkel started fighting back.
With most other world leaders gathering at the United Nations in New York, the German chancellor stayed home to tend her wounds and rally the troops after her party’s latest setback at the ballot box. Merkel, 62, used the time to clear the decks with a rare admission of lapses over last year’s record refugee influx and stepped up efforts to mend fences with her rebellious Bavarian allies, fueling speculation she may be ready to seek a fourth term in next year’s German elections.