Angela Merkel

Angela Dorothea Merkel (born July 17, 1954 in Hamburg) is a German politician and the conservative opposition's candidate to become Chancellor of Germany in the German federal election, 2005. "Angie" is another popular nickname for Merkel, used by supporters.

Candidacy for Chancellor

On May 30, 2005 she won the CDU/CSU nomination as challenger to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of the SPD in the 2005 national elections. Her party began the campaign with a 21% lead over the SPD in national opinion polls; however, her personal popularity lagged behind that of the incumbent. Her candidacy suffered in particular when, having made economic competence central to the CDU's platform, she confused gross and net income twice during a televised debate. She regained some momentum after she announced that she would appoint Paul Kirchhof, a former judge at the German Constitutional Court and leading fiscal policy expert, as Minister of Finance. However, both Merkel herself and the CDU lost ground significantly after Kirchhof proposed the introduction of a flat tax in Germany, again undermining the party's credibility on economic affairs and convincing many voters that the CDU's platform of deregulation was designed to benefit only the rich. Although Merkel's standing recovered after she distanced herself from Kirchhof's proposals, she remained considerably less popular than Schröder and the CDU's lead was down to 9% on the eve of the election. If her party is elected, she will be Germany's first female chancellor, the first woman to lead Germany since Empress Theophania (956-991).

Related Topics:
May 30 - 2005 - Gerhard Schröder - SPD - 2005 national elections - SPD - Opinion poll - Incumbent - Gross - Net income - Paul Kirchhof - Flat tax - Theophania - 956 - 991

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On Sunday, September 18, 2005, Merkel's CDU and Schröder's SPD went head-to-head in the national elections, with the CDU winning 35% of the vote to the SPD's 34% according to most exit polls. Exit polls also suggest the CDU and its preferred coalition partners, the FDP, will not have enough seats between them to form a majority, throwing doubt upon the future make-up of Germany's government. Both Schröder and Merkel have claimed victory in the election.

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