CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel claimed victory in the German election last night after projections showed her conservatives had emerged as the strongest party.
Ms Merkel was seeking a second four-year term in yesterday's parliamentary election and wanted to end her "grand coalition" with the centre-left Social Democrats of challenger Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Her conservative bloc last night looked set
to form a centre-right alliance with her preferred partner, the pro-reform Free Democrats.
She told supporters: "Tonight we can really celebrate. (But] there are many problems in our country to be solved."
She added: "We have achieved something great. We have managed to achieve our election aim of a stable majority in Germany for a new government."
Ms Merkel said she wanted to take a consensual approach to government, saying: "I want to be the chancellor of all Germans."
Mr Steinmeier, who has been part of the government for 11 years and served under Ms Merkel as foreign minister, said: "The voters have decided and the result is a bitter day for German Social Democracy ... There is no talking around it: this is a bitter defeat."
Projections by the nation's public broadcasters, based on partial vote counts, put support for Ms Merkel's Christian Democrats and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), at 33.6 per cent of the vote and for the Social Democrats at about 23 per cent.
The Free Democrats captured nearly 15 per cent, the Left Party had 12 per cent or more and the Greens more than 10 per cent.
Guido Westerwelle, the leader of the Free Democrats, is expected to be the next foreign minister. His party is returning to government after an 11-year absence.
"We are pleased with this exceptional result but we know that above all else, this means responsibility," he said.
Ms Merkel promised "swift and decisive" coalition talks, likely to be shorter than the two months of haggling that produced the grand coalition in 2005.
A Downing Street spokeswoman last night said Prime Minister Gordon Brown had sent Ms Merkel his congratulations.
She added:
"He looks forward to continuing their close working relationship."
Ms Merkel and Mr Westerwelle
have both argued that tax cuts would boost the economy, ultimately leading to higher tax revenue.
Yet Ms Merkel has called for modest middle-income tax relief, while Mr Westerwelle – who successfully portrayed his party as a champion of the middle class and small business – has called for far deeper tax cuts, with significant reductions in both the top and bottom rates.
The conservatives and the Free Democrats want to halt a plan to shut down Germany's 17 nuclear power plants by 2021, and hope to extend the lives of some until more renewable energy is available.
A key challenge for the new government will be to work towards a strategy for the eventual withdrawal of more than 4,200 German troops in Afghanistan, a mission that has become increasingly unpopular.
Al-Qaeda and Taleban militants have threatened Germany over its involvement in Afghanistan, which prompted increased security ahead of the election.
Authorities on Saturday banned all flights over Munich's Oktoberfest beer festival, which draws six million visitors, until it ends on Sunday.
STATE OF PLAY• CDU/CSU 33.6%
• Social Democrats 23%
• FDP 14.6%
• Left 12.1%
• Greens 10.5%
*Projections from German public broadcasters
