Reuters:
Tue Nov 22, 2005 8:49 PM ET
By Noah Barkin and Markus Krah
BERLIN (Reuters) - Angela Merkel became Germany's first female chancellor on Tuesday, ending months of political uncertainty and ushering in a fragile new coalition of left and right that must prove it can revive Europe's biggest economy.
Merkel, the 51-year-old pastor's daughter who started her political career after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, was confirmed in Germany's top post by a parliamentary vote in which 397 of the Bundestag's 614 members backed her -- easily enough for the majority she needed in the lower house.
She became Germany's eighth postwar chancellor, its youngest and the first to have grown up in the ex-communist east.
"Dear Dr Merkel, you are now the first ever elected female head of government in Germany. That is a strong signal for many women, and certainly for some men too," joked parliamentary speaker Norbert Lammert, who swore Merkel into office.
Her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder, who initially refused to cede his post when her conservatives narrowly beat his Social Democrats in a September 18 election, was the first to congratulate Merkel after the result was read out to a hushed chamber.
Schroeder later handed over the Chancellery keys to Merkel in an emotional ceremony in which he wished her luck and she thanked him for modernizing Germany.
Merkel has vowed to cut unemployment and repair ties with Washington, strained by Schroeder's vocal opposition to the U.S.-led Iraq war. But she enters office weaker than she had hoped with a majority of Germans convinced her unwieldy alliance will not last a full four-year term.
Most Germans also believe the first "grand coalition" since the 1960s will fail to boost the economy, cut jobless queues or reduce Germany's indebtedness, according to a poll released by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper on Tuesday.
Merkel said finding more jobs for Germans would be key.
Merkel's confirmation as chancellor comes two months after a tight election she had been expected to win easily, and a half year after Schroeder shocked the nation by calling for early polls. The result left Merkel with little choice but to form a coalition with the SPD, arch-rivals of her party for decades.
During tough month-long coalition negotiations, Merkel, whose reformist zeal has been likened to that of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was forced to abandon her most ambitious plans for shaking up the German social welfare system.
ECONOMY IS PRIORITY
She will have to hope that the central plank of her coalition program -- a bipartisan deal to bring the budget deficit back within EU limits by 2007 through higher sales taxes -- will not hinder growth by cramping consumer spending.
Once Europe's motor, Germany now has one of the weakest growth rates in the 25-nation European Union. Reviving the economy and slashing unemployment, which hit postwar highs under Schroeder, are the new government's main priorities.
The challenge for the new government was underscored on Tuesday in European Commission note showing it will ask EU finance ministers in February to escalate budget disciplinary procedures against Germany to the last stage before sanctions.
With 397 votes, Merkel won more support in parliament than any previous chancellor, but 51 of the 448 deputies from her coalition chose not to support her.
"Perhaps it would have been nicer to have a '4' before the figure, but that's an aesthetic issue, not a question of stability in the coming years," said her new foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Merkel represents a generational change and a break in style from the flamboyant Schroeder, who favored Italian suits and fat cigars and seemed most at ease when in the media spotlight.
Her low-key approach -- on display on Tuesday as she sat in the lower house of parliament with a restrained smile and sober black suit -- has been mocked in the German media.
But some commentators say it is tailor-made for a coalition that will require steady, delicate management and argue the government could succeed.
Merkel's cabinet, which met on Tuesday evening, is dominated by pragmatists and the ruling parties enjoy majorities in both houses of parliament. Stability could also be helped by a strong sense within the rival camps that failure could prompt voters to abandon them in any early elections.
Merkel will not sit back and savor her victory for long. On Wednesday, she travels to Paris to meet French President Jacques Chirac, then on to Brussels to see EU and NATO officials.
