she h outmaneuvered her opponents to becomehe untry's most powerful politicians. >> she is the most skillfulfand pokerace in recent hiory here. you can never see what she els. she s a very calculated cha. e has proven to be extremel successful atilling her opponentsf necsary. was just a few days to go before e election, she enjoys some strong card the german ecomy is recovering from recession. foopel factories he been saved from closure. she is seen by many in a good light. >> she ges you the feelg that she can pull the country together. that is why they gave. the nickname "mummy." >> you ght think th election relts will be a foregone conclusion. in germany, pele do not vo directly for a chancellor. they vote for a party. her party is not nearly as popular as shis. hat party is the christian democrats. ev with her face onts posters, might not win enough tes to get wh it wants, coalitn. as for her main rival, he has problems of his own. his social democrats trail in the opinion polls. if they fail to rally, mrs. merkel is almost guaranteed a second term as chancelr. back in the casino, the bck