♪ >> this is the journal on dw-tv. i am heather delisle. >> and i am peter dolle. >> angela merkel overwhelmingly is reelected leader of the christian democrats and she defends the party's record in government. dozens of people die in a high- rise tower blaze in shanghai. and muslim pilgrims converged in saudi arabia as the annual hajj shelgren engine -- pilgrimage continues. ♪

>> german chancellor angela merkel has been reelected as leader of the conservative christian democrats. more than 90% of the delegates at the party conference voted to keep merkel as party leader. amid lagging approval ratings for the coalition government, it gives merkel a decisive boost ahd ofeveral key state eltionin germany next year. in a speech, she saw to give new confidence to fellow conservatives. >> merkel seemed pleased with the results. 90.4% of the delegates voted to retain her as party leader. the number was down slightly over her reelection two years ago, but it is a solid boost for the chancellor amid ongoing divisions in her coalition government. earlier, merkel made a clear commitment to her party's alliance with the pro-business ftp and take aim at the opposition social democrats, including their former party

chair. >> they once said the opposition is rubbish. today, they have nothing left to say. the fdp has gone one step further. as the opposition, they are making a mess and doing it enthusiastically. >> it was a welcome message at a time of uncertainty. despite lagging poll numbers, merkel urged her party to forge in more confident and united course ahead. >> at the height of the crisis, we promised that germany would emerged strengthened from the crisis. we took a lot of flak for that. today, germany is in a better position than most other countries. >> the chancellor issued a rallying call to your christian democrats, as the party prepares for several key state elections around germany next year. >> so angela merkel's mission was to rally the party the conference and show that she's ready to tackle the big problems. i asked our correspondent if she achieved that.

>> i think she has. angela merkel speaks today, and she gave a rousing performance in which she touched on the whole gamut of hot-button issues fromntegration to reform of the education system, tax reform, rebalancing the economy, and so on. i think she spoke to the heart of her party. of course, things have been difficult for her in recent months, but today she got a long standing ovation, and i think she addressed the things that people wanted to hear her talk about. >> what about merkel personally -- and the thing she has strengthened her leadership at this conference? -- and do you think she has strengthened her leadership at this conference? >> i really do think so. and she has a couple key reformers that have been in her mauled elected as deputy leaders

of the party. angela merkel has talked about the decisions, and that is what we are seeing now. and she will go forward from this very much in control of the christian democrats. >> thank you. and we will have more on the party conference a little later on in this half-hour. first, at least 42 people have died in shanghai after a high rise apartment block caught fire. the building was undergoing renovation. dozens more were injured in the blaze which broke out early afternoon local time. the 28-story high rise was almost completely engulfed in flames. it was unclear how many people were inside when the fire started. fire crews spent four hours trying to bring the blaze under control. it was on chinese television and it showed firefighters rescuing residents there scaffolding for renovation work. 90 people were transported to area hospitals for treatment of their injuries.

family members are still waiting to hear news about missing relatives. the uncertainty has kept many on edge. >> my relatives and friends were driving to different hospitals. as a family member, what can i do? i have one thing to say. i ask the communist party to help quickly. >> authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze. witnesses said it started after building materials caught on fire, the flames spread quickly over the building's scaffolding. indian police say at least 32 people died when a building collapsed in the capital of dili on monday. at least 60 people were injured when the five-story caved in. residents began to clear the rubble with their bare hands before emergen teams arrived. they expect many more people are trapped beneath the collapsed building. emergency work these -- workers were hampered because fire engines cannot easily navigate

the narrow streets of the area. burmese opposition leader aung san suu kyi is working on reviving her political party. she went to the offices of the national league for the market sea to meet with senior party members and lawyers. numerous wellwishers turned out for a glance of the nobel laureate. her party was banned in may after idecided to boycott the national elections in protest of suu kyi's exclusion from the vote. in italy, four members of prime minister berlusconi's government resigned amid a deepening political crisis. the four ministers are loyal lists of a former berlusconi ally who is now a rival for power. he has called on berlusconi to resign following a new sex scandal allegation. berlusconi says he will uphold the confidence vote in parliament but only after lawmakers have passed next year's budget. in france, president nicolas sarkozy has it in months of speculation and unveiled a

reshuffled cabinet in his bid to shore up his own flagging popularity. his poll numbers sunk to new lows after his government pushed the controversial pension reform bill through parliament, triggering mass protest. the new cabinet retains key allies. sarkozy hopes that will help him win reelection in 18 months. >> sarkozy's new team is mostly made up of familiar faces. the conservative favorites, the former prime minister has been brought into the government as defense minister. the previous justice minister is now taking over at the foreign ministry. sarkozy defied some analyst speculation and retained his unpopular fillon prime ministerunpopular. many doubt whether his move will give him the boost to desired. >> i do not know, but it does not seem like a major reshuffle. it is the same ople. some of them are gone, but fillon is still in office.

i do not think much will change. >> after seeing off his critics like the former foreign minister from the socialists, the new cabinet is dominated by loyal supporters, and it has a more conservative profile. now, sarkozy will be hoping his poll numbers recover ahead of the 2012 presidential election. >> all right, we have ireland's future hanging in the balance. >> they are trying to restore confidence in the euro. and the bond markets have turned their backs on ireland in the sovereign debt crisis. but what will ireland do? there's speculation mounting that ireland will soon ask for some sort of aid in the battle to rescue its banks and to cut its deficit. dublin says it will not turn to the european union for a full- blown bailout, but there are now reports that it may ask the eu for money to help its banks. the european union finance ministers meet tomorrow. germany reportedly wants ireland to ask for help, saying that,

wouldcalm jittery bond and stock markets. -- saying that that would calm jittery bond and stock markets. >> ireland has a denied that they need bailout funds from the eu. it would partially lose control over its own budget. ireland is deep in debt due to its bank bailouts, but the eu acknowledges that ireland has not saw help. >> first of all, the irish authorities have reiterated themselves, but they have not made any request for financial assistance. furthermore, the irish sovereign debt is fully financed until the summer of 2011, so there is no imminent need in the area. >> ireland still needs cash to keep its banks afloat. they're still counting the costs of the property crash. so far, dublin has prompted some 35 billion euros into its banking sector. that is no small change for such a small country.

this all means the new debt in the country reaches an eu-wide record of 32% of gdp. and some are speculating that irish banks still made aid of up to 50 billion euros. eu finance ministers are due to meet in brussels on tuesday. the state of ireland's economy and the possibility of a rescue package for dublin is likely to be on the agenda at those talks. >> will ireland become the next grease? that is the question of the hour now. it appears that gris''s budget problems are not as easy to tame as earlier thought. the greek finance minister said on monday that last year's budget -- deficit was nearly 15.5% of gdp, some 2% higher than previously thought. monday, this sunday demonstrations in athens by the unions and left-leaning groups, protesting against the greek government's austerity measures. they accuse the eu and the

international monetary fund of imposing conditions that are far too strict to secure risky loans. the debt crisis in the eurozone weighed on european stock exchanges this monday. but investors chose instead to focus on much stronger than expected eurozone exports. our dw-tv correspondent has more from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> the german market had a weak start into the new trading week because of the debt crisis in europe responsible for the risk aversion. people believe that ireland will soon ask for help, which would calm the market. there was momentum pushed by strong car shares during the day. shares of volkswagen. their speculations that vw could take over man with the help of another company. there was a steady relating the company's -- promising higher

revenue. >> that was from frankfurt. looking at several market indices in more detail -- more detail, was in the blue-chip dax index closing the day at about 0.8%. the euro stoxx 50 index closed about 1% higher. in new york, investors are celebrating some strong retail sales figures. the dow jones industrials were up 0.5%. finally, the hero is suffering under the irish and the greek woes. trading for $1.3595. it would have been the world's biggest business deal this year, but the global minor bhp peloton says that it is pulling back from buying the canadian fertilizer maker potash. bhp had planned to pay nearly $40 billion for potash, but investors did not want that. instead, bhp will invest in

itself by buying back its own shares. it is the third time a major acquisition and bhp has collapsed, and a sign that companies remain reluctant to enter big deals despite having plenty of money. if you want a new car from a german automobile maker, be prepared to wait. demand for german automobiles abroad is outstripping supply here. a surprise to market analysts who have been expecting a slowdown. the boom is coming from emerging markets where motorists cannot get enough. >> audi has never had such a backlog of orders, and the waiting lists are growing longer. a new midrange a3 model now takes five months to arrive. audi is now the only car maker with difficulties. at volkswagen, their delivery delays. more than five months for a new golf. customers can spend four months on the waiting list for a new

mercedes at around three months for a new opel. the bottleneck has taken many analysts by surprise. many had predicted hard times for the german auto industry after the end of the government's cash for clunkers program. but demand has been soaring in export markets. permit -- carmakers now expect german plans to pump out about 5.5 million units this year, 10% more than 2009. that is positive news for the german economy. carmakers employ more than 700,000 people. and there are not down affects to other sectors. some estimates say one in seven workers in germany are directly dependent on the auto industry. >> thanks. more than two million muslims converged on mount arafat as the hajj pilgrimage reached its high point on monday. they believe that is where the profit mohammed delivered his final sermon. >> on monday, mount arafat was

almost lost in a sea of white- robed pilgrims. a seemingly endless stream of men and women converged on the place where the private mammed is believed to have delivered his final sermon. ring their stay on mount arafathmountajj pilgrims -- on mount arafat, hajj pray for forgiveness for their sins. >> it is a good feeling. i wish every muslim could be here today. it is a great day. >> i am looking for god's mercy, his forgiveness, and great reward. >> every muslim who is healthy and can afford it is duty-bound to make the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. the annual event creates a huge logistical challenge for the authorities in saudi arabia. past pilgrimages have been marred by a deadly stampede, fires, and other disasters. this year, there have been no major problems.

after prayers on mount arafat, pilgrim's move on to their nearby plains to spend the night. they collect the stones that will use in the stoning of the double ritual over the next few days. >> the german chancellor and president have congratulated the new formula one world champion sebastian vettel. on sunday, he clinched the title in the final race of the season. >> with his trophy in hand in his teammate at his side, formula one champion sebastian vettel stepped off a private jet from abu dhabi. they arrived for another party in salzburg. the team's sponsor, red bull, was honoring the drivers that the company's headquarters. just after his winning run on sunday, sebastian vettel went straight to celebrating with his team. for the youngest champion the and the formula in history, it is still sinking in. >> there were lots of questions afterwards, same as now. nothing has changed.

later, we had time to let loose and celebrate. but we did not sleep. >> in nonstop celebrations are set to continue. on tuesday, they will leave salzburg for the team's british racing center. sebastian vettel is not set to arrive in his home town in germany and tell next week. >> stay tuned.

>> welcome back. it germany's christian democrats, the largest party and the governing coalition, are holding a party conference. it is a key test for chancellor angela merkel, whose coalition party have often been driven by internal problems since taking power a year ago. on monday, 90% of delegates backed merkel in the vote for party leadership it shows perhaps that the cdu wants to put the divisions behind it. >> a rousing reception from conference goers. angela merkel, uncontested

leader of the christian democrats. but the chancellor did concede the look first year of college with the free democrats had been marked by some in-fighting between the two parties. she said both had needed time to get used to each other. >but she assured delegates there is no other option for the cdu. >> the alternative to this coalition would be another grand coalition. in case anybody had had that thought in a weak moment. >> merkel gave a speech that was combative but thoughtful in places. the chancellor made continual references to the core values of the cdu, underscoring their christian foundation, and she stressed the need to defend those values in the debate over immigration and integration, for example. >> it is not that we have too much is lawns. rather, we have too little christianity. we talk too little about the christian image of society,

about the judeo-christian values that define us. this is what we have to emphasize with confidence. [applause] >> it was a tone that many of the thousand delegates agreed with. >> it shows us that the cdu is the party that has the strength to survive difficult decisions. i think her combative speech encourages us. >> it is the strongest speech i have ever heard. we're herwe have elections next year, and if you look at polling figures, it looks like the conservatives had some anxiety here. >> but some among the party faithful believe that merkel's pragmatic politics could be losing the cdu some of its traditional voters. >> she has good polling numbers. she is well-liked. but that does not mean that the cdu will do better in elections, and i believe that is because we did not stakeout clear enough

positions with many issues with the public. >> but after a bumpy start to the current coalition, merkel can be pleased with the 90.4% result for reelection as party leader. and the new deputies are pragmatists open to all lengths of the party. the employment minister is a strong supporter of women's rights to a career as well as a family. and the environment minister is also head of the biggest regional cdu group are in the country. angela merkel has told her party needs to be both conservative and moderate, a delicate balancing act, and one that will be put to the test in regional elections next year. a challenge that will surely demand plenty of stamina from the chancellor. >> well, one of the things that chancellor merkel has been criticized for is our government response to the global economic crisis. i asked our correspondent if she had defended her policies. >> yes, she has a very

vigorously. she said that her government's response to the financial crisis in in general, and in particular, the crisis for the year, have been one of its greatest successes. she said that the bailout package for greece had been absolutely essential, that there were continuing threats to the stability of the euro, and she used very strong language talking about how this is about the future of europe and peace in europe. and she said the government had done everything that it needed to do. she rejected suggestions that germany has put unreasonable emphasis on its exports, that it has not done enough to stimulate consumer demand. and she said that pressure on at the banks is the right way to create the stability for the euro area that is desperately needed, in spite of the fact that greece has been criticizing

the germans stance on banking regulation. >> despite her strong performance, the cdu is still doing poorly in the polls, and there are a lot of state elections coming up next year. >> that is true. it is a headache for angela merkel. next year we have five state elections, including key ones in several areas worthy cdu government is very much on the ropes. if christian democrats do badly in those elections, that will reflect badly on the chancellor as she takes her party, she hopes, forward to the next general election in three year'' time. >> her reelection, with 90% of the vote, has strengthened her position within the party. what will that mean in terms of her policies? >> of course, it does mean that she can push our program for word. there is a lot of key policy

areas that she's concentrating on. reform of the tax system is one of them. also, reform of germany's armed forces, effectively getting rid of compulsory military service. that is very controversial with a lot of conservatives. reform of the health and education systems and so on. -- two is been very warmly applauded at this conference today, is in a stronger position. i think that will enable her to set the agenda in the months ahead. that is what she is helping. >> thank you. as we have heard, merkel's conservatives are suffering from po approval ratings. t popularity has been dented by the economic crisis but also by what merkel describes as uncovered of all decisions. public in-fighting with coalition partners is not helped. sometimes the government seems less unified than the grand coalition that was in power before. however, some believe the slide

in the ratings may be indicative of a wider trend, that voters are abandoning their loyalty to one particular party. >> the christian democrats have seen better days. discontent is growing among voters, and many lay the blame for the country's problems with the coalition's largest party, the cdu. governing during difficult times often takes a political toll. >> the end of -- there just is not enough money to finance social expenditure. there's more spending and more responsibilities to take on with less money. that will not make any government popular. >> but polls show that fewer and fewer people are voting cdu. after a loss the general election in 2002, the conservative party's fortress appeared to be improving with 51% approval. since then, its popularity has dwindled to 32% in the most recent poll.

rpin election terms, the cdu's f all fell from 38.5% in to thousand two to n 33.8% in 2009. the other main german party, the social democrats, suffered even more dramatic losses. the trend indicates that voters are abandoning their loyalty to one particular party. >> the cdu can rely on a potential 10% of loyal voters. for the rest of their support, they're dependent on voters were theoretically on the defense. >> many conservatives have been put off by the parties passive modernization. but that has been part of cdu efforts to reach out to the center. the wider their electoral support, the easier it is to govern. >> that is the advantage that main popular party said. if ty are big enough, they are in a position to lean with the stable majority in parliament.

>> that stable majority is something that cdu conservatives can only dream of right now, so it is all the more urgent that they resolve their internal arguing and soon. >> and that has been our "in depth" at this hour. thanks for watching. ♪ captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪