Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Merkel Re-Elected Party Leader with 96.7% of Votes

12/10/2014

COLOGNE, Germany – German Chancellor Angela Merkel was re-elected head of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, party on Tuesday, taking 96.7 percent of the votes from delegates attending the party’s conference in Cologne, sources in the party said.

It was the eighth time that CDU delegates ratified Merkel’s party leadership of the party, which she has held since 2000, and comes a year after winning her third term as Germany’s chancellor.

The percentage was slightly below her best results obtained at the party’s conference in Hannover in 2012, when it reached 97.9 percent.

In a speech to delegates before the vote, Merkel emphasized that the German economy is strong and urged all citizens to continue working hard for the sake of the country’s future.

The chancellor has also hailed Germany’s influential position in the international arena.

Germany has fewer than three million jobseekers, Merkel said, adding that the country’s youth unemployment is the lowest in the euro zone.

She also thanked Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble for his efforts in reaching the zero deficit budget scheduled for 2015.


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