BERLIN (Reuters) - Angela
Merkel was elected to a third term as chancellor in a vote in the German lower
house of parliament on Tuesday, paving the way for her new "grand
coalition" government to be sworn in and formally take power later in the
day.
Merkel's conservatives scored their best
result in over two decades in a German election on September 22 but were forced
into lengthy coalition talks with the rival Social Democrats (SPD), whose
members only approved the deal last weekend.
The
vote in the Bundestag was a formality as the ruling parties hold an
overwhelming majority of the seats. A total of 462 lawmakers backed Merkel for
chancellor, with 150 voting against and 9 abstaining.
The new government faces a host of
challenges, from bedding down European reforms aimed at shielding the bloc from
future crises, to seeing through Merkel's costly switch from nuclear to
renewable energy.
Merkel, dressed in black and looking
relaxed as lawmakers voted in the Bundestag chamber, joins fellow conservatives
Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl as the only post-war chancellors to have won
three terms.
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