Merkel: Party was always aware it faced fight in German vote
ABC News
Chancellor Angela Merkel says her party is fighting and was always aware that it wouldn’t “automatically” hold on to Germany’s top job after her 16 years in power
BERLIN -- Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that her party is fighting and was always aware that it wouldn't “automatically” hold on to Germany's top job after her 16 years in power, downplaying alarming poll ratings as the country's election nears. Recent polls have shown Merkel's Union bloc under would-be successor Armin Laschet in second place behind the center-left Social Democrats, with very low support of around 20%. It is running short of time to turn things around before the Sept. 26 parliamentary election. Merkel has largely stayed out of the campaign, though she has made a number of interventions lately — most recently, assailing the possibility of a future left-wing administration and trying to boost Laschet in an unusually partisan speech to parliament on Tuesday. Asked at a news conference Thursday whether she was worried about her record being sullied by her party losing the chancellery, Merkel replied that “we are in the middle of the election campaign and I can see that (it is) really fighting.”More Related News