mrs. merkel's party during recent years.s candidate, addressed reporters on saturday. >> translator: this is going to be a long election evening, that's for sure. but it's also certain a lot of voters have ticked off in favor of the sdp because they wanted a change, and they wanted the next chancellor named olaf scholz. >> but the cdu's candidate, the party's designated successor to angela merkel, says he's not ready to throw in the towel. here he is addressing supporters on sunday evening. >> translator: we cannot be content with this result. the outcome of the election is still quite unclear. it's going to be a long night. for a first time, i assume there will be a federal government with most likely three coalition candidates. we from the cdu, we have been obtaining a very clear mandate from our voters. a vote for the cdu is a vote against a left government. now it's all about one thing, to forge a stable coalition for a strong and modern germany. >> building a new ruling coalition is likely to require members of both par

mrs. merkel is one of the most powerful women in the world.'s the de facto leader of the eu and a symbol of stability across the continent. it's unclear who's likely to fill her shoes with polls showing the race is just too close to call. let's go straight to fred standing by in berlin. too close to call, what's happening right now where you are? >> reporter: hi there, good morning. i have been at three polling stations this morning. you can see the one that's right behind me still a little quiet here. that's deceiving because we are right next to the route of the berlin marathon which is happening here in berlin as well and does not make it easy for people to go to polling stations like this one. i was in two other polling stations, it's pretty full at those polling stations and i think one of the reasons in some of these polling stations, you have seen a lot of people show up because this race is so close and so different. for r the first time in 16 year the next chancellor is not angela merkel. you are not going to fhave a blow-out victory.

i will miss mrs. merkel because i'm not satisfied with the current candidates. i would have preferred her. i think mrs . miracle has done a good job, very charismatic. she's accepted everywhere in the world. i'm not to say to you voter, but you can admire the woman. i think everything she did from 2015 on the wards made things worse. she started the way of refugees herself without agreement. that was not right and it cost so much care of here are just a moment. i'll show you how the election works. a german voters don't directly choose a chancellor. the elect members of the bundle stock, who will later pick a chance to lead to lead a coalition government. each vote receives to ballad papers for a candidate in the electoral district. and there are 201909 constituencies all across the country. the 2nd valid is full and political party and there are $47.00 of them running for seats. but only parties with more than 5 percent of the vote nationwide can enter the dish dog. we discuss how the election might pan out with one car in time. one form a cd, you party member w

i will miss mrs. merkel because i'm not satisfied with the current candidate. i would have preferred her. i think mrs. miracle has done a good job, very charismatic. she's accepted everywhere in the world. i'm not to say to you voter, but you can admire the woman. i think everything she did from 2015 on the board made things worse. she started the wave of refugees herself without agreement, there was not right and it got so much care of here. so here is how the election will work. german voters don't directly choose who chancellor, the members of the bundle stock, who will they to pick a chance to lead to lead a coalition government each row to receive 2 ballad papers. first, for a candidate in the electoral district, there are 299 constituencies across the country. and the 2nd ballot is for a political party and there are $47.00 of them running for seats. however, only parties with more than 5 percent of the vote nationwide are allowed access into the blender stock. now the dominant force and german politics until now of course has been the cd you csu alliance.

mrs merkel has dominated german politics for 16 years as chancellor.me for a look at the weather with matt taylor. most m ost pla ces most places will be dry and with some sunshine breaking through parts of central and eastern areas will see temperatures of 20 to 2a celsius, 56 celsius above where we should be. i humid feel with southerly winds are strengthening tonight, meaning more breaks in the cloud. 0ne tonight, meaning more breaks in the cloud. one or two shall proceed in there, the odd heavy one towards the west but most places will be dry into tomorrow morning but temperatures in the mid teens. as for tomorrow, a sunnier day through parts of scotland, england and wales, only a few isolated showers. 0ne wales, only a few isolated showers. one or two replaced by longer spells of rain into northern ireland in western scotland. that will bring around a change in the seasons, 22 to 24 around a change in the seasons, 22 to 2a celsius increase in england. mid teens as we go into next week. hello, this is bbc news with joanna gosling. the headlines: qu

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago. now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of the me. okay, well here's how the election process will work over the weekend. voters do not directly choose a chance slip, but have 2 votes to decide the next parliament. the 1st ballot is for a candidate in their constituency, and there are $299.00 constituencies across the country. then the 2nd ballot is for a political party, and there are $47.00 of them running 4 seats, but only parties with more than 5 percent of the nationwide can actually enter the bundle stack. but as we mentioned, a favorite to take over the chance the ship is on the ship head mircle success at the head of the christian democrats who strongly defends miracles, open door immigration policies amongst germany to maintain a strong and independent foreign policy. but he has suffered a number of gaps during his pre election campaign. now we discuss doraville and how the election might panic. with that you can told him hoffer, he's

armin laschet, who represents mrs merkel�*s conservatives, has narrowed the gap, perhaps because theas been at his side in recent days. the future government, she said today, must provide wealth, security and peace, that's what we stand for. germany's green party will most likely take third place. they had hoped for better and climate change is a big election issue here, but they could still end up in a coalition with the winner. as if all that wasn't competition enough, the berlin marathon is scheduled tomorrow as german voters go to the polls. we met tom and anna as they familiarise themselves with the course. i would have loved to keep angela merkel. i don't see her strength in any of the candidates. yes, but angela merkel wasn't that popular in the beginning either so we should give these people a chance. germany is on the threshold of a new political era, but it might take some time. whoever comes out on top tomorrow night has to form a coalition government and many combinations are technically possible but politically tricky to negotiate. that means it could be weeks if not mon

and mrs merkel| busty as a caretaker chancellor. for the moment, thank you very much indeed. s had 152 seat. for both of them, that was disappointing. we have seen a diversification of german politics. then you had the right wing 01, alternative for germany. it currently has 87 seats, then you have the free—market liberals on 80, the left, die linke, has 69, and the greens have 67. it gives you an idea that if the greens to continue as the polling suggests, it would be a significant shift to establish himself very much as today major party of german politics. let's bring an hour corresponded at the headquarters of the spd. i'm guessing things are getting pretty nervy. guessing things are getting pretty ne . , . ., , ., guessing things are getting pretty ne . , . . , ., , nervy. they certainly are, but in the last minute _ nervy. they certainly are, but in the last minute or _ nervy. they certainly are, but in the last minute or so, _ nervy. they certainly are, but in the last minute or so, some - nervy. they certainly are, but in i the last minute or so, some huge cheers have

but it's getting seriously interesting now because mrs merkel�*s cdu party is now having a torrid fewbe angela merkel�*s final address to parliament as chancellor. here we see her walking into speak the bundestag — that's the lower house of parliament. and after 16 years of addressing lawmakers, this was quite a moment. she used it to attack her coalition partners — the centre left spd — and the party on the rise in the polls. here's some of the attack. translation: citizens of the choice, even for a government that accepts, one that is not excluded. i am only telling the truth. or a federal government led by the cdu and csu with them as chancellor. die linke party that mrs merkel refers to there is far left — and the democratic descendant of the communist party which governed old east germany. and as all parties know, there will be a coalition government after this election. die linke is offering itself as a would—be coalition partners with the social democrats, the spd, and the greens. mrs merkel is keen to warn voters of what she sees as the risks that would involve. she's also see

mrs merkel has dominated german politics for 16 years as chancellor.hrough parts of central and eastern areas will see temperatures of 20

because of that he has been getting help from mrs merkel herself. �* ,, �* getting help from mrs merkelself. �* ,, ~ ., , ., getting help from mrs merkel herself. �* ,, ~ ., ., herself. translation: i ask you to do everything _ herself. translation: i ask you to do everything that _ herself. translation: i ask you to do everything that you _ herself. translation: i ask you to do everything that you can - herself. translation: i ask you to do everything that you can to - do everything that you can to safeguard germany's prosperity in the coming years. to ensure german safety— the coming years. to ensure german safety and _ the coming years. to ensure german safety and the person who can do this who — safety and the person who can do this who is — safety and the person who can do this who is campaigning to do this and ready— this who is campaigning to do this and ready to fight passionately for this is— and ready to fight passionately for this is armand lie shut.— this is armand lie shut. that's the itch but this is armand lie shut. that's the pitch but the _ this is armand lie shut. that

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of steam. or let's explain how the election process is going to work over the weekend. voters don't directly choose the chancellor. instead they have to vote to decide the next parliament. the 1st ballot is for a candidate in that constituency, and there are $299.00 constituencies across germany. the 2nd ballot is for a political party or $47.00 of them running for states this sunday, but only parties that secure more than 5 percent of the vote nationwide convention . and the bundle tug that was we mentioned the favorite to take over the chance the ship is arm and lashes. michael successor as party chief of the christian democrats, he defended medical immigration policies which have tightened decided rules in recent years. and he wants germany to maintain a strong and independent foreign policy, but he suffered a number of gaps hearing is pre election campaign or c d u party member max also told us that m

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of the me. ok, well here's how the election process will work over the weekend. the voters do not directly choose the chancellor, but have to vote to decide the next parliament. the 1st ballot is for a candidate in that constituency, and there are $299.00 constituencies across the country. and then the 2nd ballot is for a political party and there are $47.00 of those running for c. however, only parties with more than 5 percent of the vote nationwide can actually enter the bundle stack. well, the front runner for the chance the ship is all of shorts. here who is currently the finance minister. he's a member of the social democrats who form part of the route and coalition and raising the minimum wage is one of his election pledges. although he has been tainted by the fraud scandal surrounding the financial, multinational company wire card, something that happened on his watch. and we did discuss how the el

cities across the country. 0ur europe editor katya adler reports now on the campaign to succeed mrs merkelst powerful country, angela merkel is relieved, perhaps, that it's almost all over. the migrant crisis, the euro crisis, four us presidents, five uk prime ministers, 100 eu summits and more during her time in office. hers will be a tough act to follow, at home and on the world stage. many germans say they'll miss the stoic, pragmatic politician nicknamed mummy. merkel is going to be strongly missed, i think so. i will miss merkel very much. because? because i am fond of her, yes. i think it will be very hard for any candidate who comes next - or the next chancellor. like, to fulfil this role _ because there will always be those comparisons to merkel. and at eu hq in brussels, there'll also be a big merkel—sized hole. 0n the global landscape, i mean it really matters and you know i think merkel was a very, very well respected leader so everybody is looking at who is going to follow in her footsteps? of course, there's the potential for germany to take a dramatic new direction after 16 y

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of steam. now here's how the election process will actually work over the weekend. voters do not directly choose the chancellor, but half 2 votes to decide the next parliament. the 1st ballot is for a candidate in their constituency, and there are $299.00 constituencies across the country. the 2nd ballot is for a political party, and there are $47.00 of them running for seats bus. only car thief is more than 5 percent of the vote nationwide can actually enter the blend. is one of the candidates for the chance the ship is an alina beer book here, the green party cody just in 2018. she's a nice spoken opponent of the north stream to pipeline to pump gas from russia to europe. has been criticized for lacking top level experienced miss even accused of plagiarism in her latest book will be discussed high. the election could actually panic with you and told him hoffer. he's an author, a journalist, and former p

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of steam. or here's how the election process is going to work over the weekend. voters don't directly choose the chancellor. well, they have is 2 votes to decide the next parliament. the 1st ballot is for candidates in that constituency, and there are $299.00 constituencies across germany. the 2nd ballot that they get is for a political party of $47.00 of them running facies father only party, secure, more than 5 percent of the nationwide can enter the bonus tag. as we mentioned, to favorite to take over the chance to ship it on and lashes. medical successor is party chief of the christine democrats. as to where he stands. he's a defender of medical immigration policies which have tightened on site rules in recent years. and he wants germany to maintain a strong and independent foreign policy, but he has also suffered a number of gaps during his pre election campaign. a cd you party member max also told u

although sunday's elections should identify her successor, mrs merkel may be around for a few monthswrangle over the make—up of a new coalition government. stefanie, is it going to be a case of angela's ashes already scattered within a few months to the political history books? or is there a lasting legacy we can point to on german politics and indeed may be on european politics? because there seem to be some very different views on, really, whether she has had a significant political difference. we might have seen the title of the economist this week, with the headline the mess merkel leaves behind. increasingly, people look at her legacy and they think it's not very impressive. she has been managing one crisis after the other. first, the euro crisis ten years ago, then the refugee crisis, and the last one was the pandemic, so therefore i am quite convinced that germans will miss her. some people in public life say they miss her already, because, this quite silly, i think, term of "the mother of the nation", she gave the country stability and security and she was always very, very c

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago. now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of steam. and here's how the election process will work over the weekend. so budget de know directly true, the child filament have to decide the next parliament. the phone has bonded for a candidate in that constituency. and there are $299.00 constituencies across the country. the 2nd, but it is for a political party, and there are $47.00 of them running for seats, with only parties with more than 5 percent of the nationwide can and to the bone, the dog and the favorite to take her with a chancellor position is aman. love chat, merkel success as part of chief of the christian democrats. he's a defender of michael's immigration policy, which has tightened on asylum rules and whistles. and he won't germany to maintain a strong and independence for in policy. but it has suffered a number of guns during his pre election campaign. and that brings us up to date for this our next 8th crosstalk. ah, match kaiser'

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of the me. just help you make sense of the numbers when i start coming into the end of sunday. here's how the election process will work over the weekend. voters don't directly choose the chancellor. instead they get 2 votes to decide the next parliament. the 1st pallet is for candidates in the constituency, and there are 20909 constituencies across germany. the 2nd ballot is for a political party, and there are a $47.00 of them running for seats this time. but only parties with more than 5 percent of the vote nationwide can then enter the bundle talk. one of the candidates for the chancellor ship is adelina bab, box the green poppy co leader since 2018. she's now spoken opponent of the know stream to pipeline designed to pump gas directly from russia into the out of europe, but by a box being criticized for lacking top level experience. i was even accused of plagiarism. in her latest book, cd party membe

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago. now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of steam. well, here's how the election process is going to work over the weekend. tad complicated . let's make it simple. voters don't directly choose a chunk slip, but they have to vote to decide the next parliament. the 1st ballot is for a candidate in the constituency, and there are $299.00 constituencies across the country. the 2nd ballot is for a political party. there are. 1 $47.00 of them running for seats, but only parties with more than 5 percent of the vote nationwide can enter the button to stag test. you met again later that one of the candidates for the chancellor ship is on a let a bad box. the green party co leaders since 2018. she's now spoken opponent rushes nord stream to pipeline to pump gas from russia to europe. the book has been criticized to for lacking top level experience was even accused of plagiarism. in a latest book, we discussed how the election might pot out with you going

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of steam. i will miss mrs. mccullough because i'm not satisfied with the current candidate. i would have preferred her. i think mrs. miracle has done a good job, very charismatic. she's accepted everywhere in the world. i'm not to say to you voter, but you can admire the woman. i think everything she did from 2015 on the boards made things worse. she started the wave of refugees herself without agreement. that was not right and it got so much care of here. so here's how the election will work . german voters don't directly choose the chancellor. they elect members of the stock who will later pick a chancellor to lead a coalition government each vote overseas to ballad papers. the 1st is for a candidate in the electoral district and there are $21909.00 constituencies across the country. and the 2nd valid is for a political party, and there are $47.00 of them running for seats. however, only parties with mo

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago. now she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of steam. ok, well here's how the election process for work over the weekend. tad complicated, so put some graphics on it, voters doug directly choose a chance live, but they've got 2 votes to decide the next parliament. the 1st ballot is for a candidate in their constituency. there are $299.00 constituencies across the country. the 2nd ballot is for a political party and the $47.00 of them running to see. but only part he says more than 5 percent of the boat nationwide can enter the end of the day. no one front runner, another for the chancellor ship, his ola sholtes, who's currently the finance minister. he's a member of the social democrats who formed part of the ruling coalition at the moment and raising the minimum wage is one of his election pledges. although he's been tainted by the fraud scandal surrounding the financial, multinational why a cod something that happened on his watch. we discussed h

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago. now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of the me and here's how the election process will work or whether we can vote in don't directly true the chancellor, but have to both to decide the next parliament, the $5.40 in the constituency. and there are $299.00, cuz she's constituency. the call the country. the 2nd ballot they for political policy. and there are $47.00 of them running for c, but only partner with more than 5 percent of the nationwide can enter the bundis. doug, one of the candidates for the transfer ship is on a linda buyer book. the green party co need it since 2018. shes an outspoken opponent of the north train to pipelines, to pump gas from russia to europe, but by prague has been criticized for lacking top level experience and was even a keys are plagiarism and how the latest book study up to date, more news in about half an hour off next on our scene to national is crosstalk. ah.

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago. now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of the me. ok, just to help you make sense of the numbers as they start to come in late on sunday . here's how the election process will work over the weekend. voters don't directly to the charm slot. instead, they get 2 votes to decide the next parliament. first ballot is for a candidate in that constituency. and there are $299.00 constituencies across germany. the 2nd ballot goes to a political party and the $47.00 of them is running the sinks this time around. but only parties that secure more than 5 percent of the vote nationwide can then enter the bundle tug. one of the candidates then for the chancellor, shin, this is a bad book. the green party co lead us in 2060 she's now spoken opponent of the north stream to gasp, pipeline, to pump fuel from russia to europe. but by box being criticized for lacking top level experience is also accused of plagiarism in her latest go away from the elections and a

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago. now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of the me. okay, to help me make sense for the numbers when they start coming in late on sunday. here's how the election process will work over the weekend. voters don't directly choose a chancellor. instead they get 2 votes to decide the next parliament. the 1st ballots is for a candidate in that constituency. and there are 20900 constituencies across germany . the 2nd ballot is for a political party and there are $47.00 of them running the seats this time round. but only parties with more than 5 percent of the vote nationwide can enter the next one. this tug at another one of those in the running then this front runner is overlap. shops who's currently the finance minister. he's a member of the social democrats in foreign parts in the morning coalition, raising the minimum wage is one of his election pledges. hello, he has been tainted by the fraud scandal surrounding the financial multinational wildcar

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of steam. and he is how the election process will work over the we can vote and don't directly choose a chance to let that have to decide the next parliament. the fast ballot is for a candidate in that constituency, and there are $299.00 constituencies across the country. the 2nd ballot for a political party and there are $47.00 of them running for seas, but only pauses with more than 5 percent of the nationwide can enter the bone to stand and one of the candidates will they chance show ship is on the linna buyer bulk, the green party co need since 2018 and outspoken opponent of the new string to pipeline, to pump gas from russia to europe. but firefox has been criticized for lacking top level experience and was even a keys of blood tourism. and her latest book you're up to date, more news in about 30 minutes time that had from me say later ah ah, i don't know. i'm just in there were rescuing the food tha

mrs . merkel should have gone 4 years ago. now she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of steam. and he is how the election process will work over the we can fast what it can do, not directly truth a transfer limit has to decide the next parliament. the false balance is for a candidate in that constituency, and there are $299.00 constituencies across the country. the 2nd, validate for political policy and there are $47.00 of them running for seeds, but only parties with one and 5 percent of the nationwide can enter the been de stunk. if a very, to take her would be chancellor position is arman long shots knuckles successor. as part of the christian democrats. he's a defender of immigration policies which has tightened on asylum rules in recent years. and he was germany to maintain a strong and independent foreign policy, but he has suffered a number of gods during his pre election campaign. europe today, it's more news an international in about 7 minutes of next space our documentary, the m

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of the me. so now this is complicated, so we'll put some graphics on it. has the election process is set to work over the weekend voters? doug directly choose a chunk slip, but they've got 2 votes to decide the next parliament. the 1st ballot is for a candidate and the constituency. and there are $299.00 and the 2 safe across the country. then the 2nd ballot for a political party and $47.00 of them running for see could only parties with well than 5 percent of the vote nationwide can enter the bonus tag. a front runner for the chancellor shape is all i've shown. so looking at all of them for the coming days, he's currently the finance minister. he's a member of the social democrats to form part of the ruling coalition and raising the minimum wage is one of his election pledges will vote. he's been tainted by the fraud scandal surrounding the financial multinational. why a cod something that happened on hi

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of steam. so let's look ahead his the election process is set to work over the weekend. voters don't directly choose the chancellor, but they have to vote to decide the next parliament. the 1st ballot is for a candidate in the constituency, and there are $299.00 constituencies across the country. the 2nd ballot is for a political party and there are $47.00 of them running for seeds, but only parties with more than 5 percent of the vote nationwide can enter the boat . the stag, unless you mentioned just now, favors to take over. the chancellor ship is arm and lash at merkel success as head to the kristi and democrats. and he defends merkel immigration policies which have tightened asylum rules and recent is and wants germany to maintain a strong and independent foreign policy. but all but said, he suffered a number of gas lately during his pre election campaign. as a lot more coverage of what's going on in

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of the me. okay, what, here's how the election process will actually work over the weekend. the voters do not directly choose the chancellor, but have to vote to decide the next parliament 1st ballot is for candidate in their constituency. and there are 299 constituencies across the country than the 2nd ballot is for a political party. there are $47.00 of them running to seats, but only parties with more than 5 percent of the nationwide can actually enter bond is not one of the candidates for the chance. the ship is annalynne at a ball k, the green party co lead us in 2018 cheese and i had spoken opponents of the north string to pipeline to pump gas from russia to europe. they're both has been criticized for lacking top level experience. miss even accused of plagiarism to in her latest book, we discuss how the election might panic with you can talk hoffer. he's an author, a journalist, and former politici

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of steam proven. you can please everyone all the time. well, here's how the election process will work out. big complicated voters don't directly choose a chancellor. they have 2 votes to decide the next parliament. the 1st ballot sees for a candidates in the constituency, and there are 20909 constituencies across the country. the 2nd ballad is for a political party and there are $47.00 of them running to seats, but only parties with more than 5 percent of the vote nationwide could answer the board described. as we mentioned, a favor to take over the chancellor ship, his arm in la shed, merkel successor as head of the christian democrats. he defends medical's immigration policy which have tightened asylum rules in recent years. are the ones certainly to maintain a strong and independent foreign policy, but all of us said he's suffered a number of gaps. who during his recent pre election campaign, i can te

our europe editor, katya adler, reports now on the campaign to succeed mrs merkel. at the helm of the eu's most powerful country, angela merkel is relieved, perhaps, that it's almost all over. the migrant crisis, the euro crisis, four us presidents, five uk prime ministers, 100 eu summits and more during her time in office. hers will be a tough act to follow, at home and on the world stage. many germans say they'll miss the stoic, pragmatic politician nicknamed mummy. merkel is going to be strongly missed, i think so. i will miss merkel very much. because? because i am fond of her, yes. i think it will be very hard . for any candidate who comes next or the next chancellor. like, to fulfil this role - because there will always be those comparisons to merkel. and at eu hq in brussels, there'll also be a big merkel—sized hole. on the global landscape, i mean it really matters and you know i think merkel was a very, very well respected leader so everybody is looking at who is going to follow in her footsteps. of course, there's the potential for germany to take a dramati

mrs. merkel is always been very nice to all the alliance, and that has that effect to a wrong word about the nato alliance go. she suffered, of course, the, the brutality of the talk of president trump, but she sees that it's not much better with the democrats, because joe biden is of the same would, is made up same blog, social and dumb. since she has no responsibility anymore from sunday night, she dare say what she thinks for one can say and says with her friend and mine, my hold that enough is enough. and that within nato, they want to revise the concept, the teacher concept, and bring it back actually to the north atlantic. because if you follow america, nato will soon be in the pacific, cruising around china with the others. this is not the way nature was conceived, and it shouldn't be there. europeans should not be in that region of the world. russia has a face, you know, looking at asia, we don't. america is also a giant in pacific, of course was trailing it is. it's down there, staunch ally of america and britain in the commonwealth. so it's normal that they work together in the

mrs. merkel should have gone 4 years ago now. she has lost her way. she did a lot of good in the 12 years before, but now you can see that she's out of steam. okay, get a prize if you remember this, his, her, the election process will work over the weekend. todd complicated voters don't directly choose a chancellor. they've got 2 votes to decide the next parliament. the 1st ballot is for a candidate in the constituency, and there are $22299.00 constituencies across the country. now the 2nd ballot is for a political party. there are $47.00 of them running to cease the only parties with more than 5 percent of the vote nationwide can enter the bonus tag. one of the candidates for the chancellor ship is annalynne a bad broke the green party co leader since 2018. she's now spoken opponent of an old string to pipeline the pumps gas from russia to europe. the bareback been criticized for lacking top level experience. she was even accused of plagiarism and latest book. we discussed how the election might pan out a bit more with yoga and told all fairies in th

wireless survey has adjusted the majority of mr. merkel. i was 16 years as a child ability, an experience to bring stability in europe. and here in germany, like last year and i brought the lot to didn't. mocha mostly stayed out of the campaign, but in the last week she's been out campaigning for lunch at the prime minister of north west valia and candidate of a center. right? christian democrats. and i mean that's it. i'm in lasha is a bridge builder who takes people along with him, and that's what he's shown throughout his political life, that he can do it. not just the radically, but with passion and heart lasha needs. michael's health, his phone numbers dropped dramatically after he was seen laughing during the speech of the flood, killed nearly 200 people last july. last, it has been warning of a swing to the left, if shoals, when they come. i said, i'm best who can do that the best and i'll tell you straight up. does anyone believe that the red, red green coalition will be able to do that? well, that was about 23 people who believe th

but even that deadline might be overly optimistic as mrs merkel�*s christian democrat party now led byo form its own coalition. 0ur europe editor katya adler reports from berlin. if you find yourself wondering whatjust happened in germany after yesterday's election, you are not alone. german voters have followed hourly news updates today, trying to get a sense of where their country is headed. these two rivals, one conservative, one social democrat, each say they want to form germany's next government. with the vote so splintered here, who will be the first to form a stable coalition? translation: we have seen that the public have given us| a mandate to make a serious go at driving this forward. translation: no party can derive a clear mandate - to govern from this result. but we are convinced a government led by cd uc is best for our country and we will feel obliged to our voters. coalition building will be tricky. there are competing priorities between the political parties now in negotiations, including smaller parties like germany's greens and the business minded fdp. it is ridicul

candidates, in their own ways, want voters to see them as bringing more of what angela merkel offered. indeed, mr party." that may be, but after briefly leading in the polls, the greens are now back in third. here's the polling from last week again, and we've talked about the cdu/csu, about the social democrats and about the greens — but also note the far—right afd, the far left die linke, and the liberal conservatives, the fdp. now, nobody will work in coalition with the afd, but all of the other parties matter. that's because german governments are always coalitions. this is how it works. are you ready? ok, here we go. germans cast two votes. one for a local mp, one for a political party. at least 598 members are elected by these two votes. then half of the bundestag is made up of local mps, half are elected from party lists, based on the percentage of the overall vote that the parties receive. then the bundestag is set, and coalition talks begin. now, these coalitions in germany have all sorts of funny names — traffic light, jamaica, kiwi. they all refer to the different colours of the parties

mrs merkel initially stood aside from the campaign, but has played a more active role after the spd overtookm, where a town hall event held by mr scholz has been taking place. i thing we will find out tomorrow night. it has been interesting that she has largely stood to the side and allowed the next candidate to do his own think that the polls have suggested that may not be enough so we have had these interventions from angela merkel, but despite that, all of the polling is putting the social democrats at the top at the moment. that is remarkable. the social democrats were languishing a couple of months ago in third but the candidate and his colleagues have seen their polling improve a great deal and a lot of it has been built around this style of politics that he is offering, very, and measure land in his words stable. he basically is saying that i am from a different party but you can expect to similar style of politics to the one you have had from angela merkel because all of these candidates are very aware that the germans have liked what angela merkel has done. potsdam is getting a lot

mrs. merkel is in office for now. a new governing coalition will need to be formed, a process could take weeks to months. cnn's alice jewett is here. i want to go to frederick pleitgen in berlin. fred, you said we have two mens, sholz and lasher claiming in their own way they won. it will be the liberals and the greens so what can we expect coalition wise here? >> reporter: i think you're right. the greens and liberals will be the king makers. whichever way they go will be the way the coalition is formed. it looks like after the results you said, olaf sholz seems to be in the best position to try to form a government. he came out a couple of minutes ago in the spd headquarters and he said he believed the voters had clearly spoken. there are three parties that had an increasing amount of votes. that is the spd, liberals and of course the green party as well. he believes that is a clear mandate for the three parties to form a coalition obviously with himself at the helm. you're also absolutely right to point out that th

mr. merkel, in terms of age and style, one being impatient, the other prudent.was a particularly strong relationship and it all culminated in the covid recovery fund both proposed in may 2020 for both countries the macron, duo, paris is confident they can work closely and easily with the next chancellor but it could be an opportunity for france to be more influential within the eu block now that merkel, the leading leader in the block, is leaving and can be for france increasing also remember that france has the eu rotating presidency from january. so maybe the chance to push for more autonomy and independence is at the core of macron's policy, that can be an opportunity for macron himself, he is facing a vote in april 2022 to be again voted for president. so that could be also an opportunity for him to raise his profile on the european scene. so now no matter what happens we know that france and germany don't decide everything within the eu, of course, but these two countries need to be on the same page for things to move forward and the scenarios on the table

mrs. merkel helped to expand massive job opportunities for women and took in norefugees.nd covid, she remained a strong leader. but there has been criticism of not embracing more greener initiatives. fred pleitgen joins me on this crucial day. and you're in a pretty iconic spot there. this is a big election in germany history, isn't it? >> reporter: yeah, you're right. it's a big election in part because angela merkel is no longer on the ballot and the first time in germany where the incumbent is not actually in the ballot and isn't running in the election. it's certainly something that i would say is unprecedented and where we have excitement in the year. one of the other things you mentioned is definitely key in all of this, it's absolutely impossible to determine hoot front-runner currently is. you have the green party that's set for an extremely strong showing. you have the social democrats ahead in the polls because their main can indicate olaf scholz is the most like angela merkel. and then the christians who are like the party. let's have a look. it seemed fitting

on saturday, mrs. merkel made her final pitch to rally voters hein behind the conservatives. >> translator: and this future government, i think we all agree, should ensure prosperity, security, peace. and that is what we are standing here for. because we from the christian democratic union are making an offer for this. >> fred pleitgen is in berlin and joins me live. folks are still voting. it is a critical, critical election, what are they saying to you in. >> reporter: hi there, robbyn. voting is still in the early stages. more folks are now showing up to this polling station. of course one of the things people have been telling us to the runup to the election is they realize it's a pivotal election, an important election because after 16 year, angela merkel is no longer on the ballot and because of what you were saying before, because this election is certainly too close to call. one of the things in the early stages of this campaign, it looked as though the christian democrats were going to decide this fo

mrs. merkel bit of a shock when some pecked at her fingers instead of the cups of food she was holding. but both she and the birds seemed to take it in their stride. >>> that is just one of many appearances that she has been making on behalf of her christian democratic union party ahead of tomorrow's federal election. she's trying to give a political boost to her party's candidate, who is hoping to fill her shoes after 16 years. but as fred pleitgen now reports for us, the campaign has been struggling to gain enough traction. >> reporter: it seemed almost fitting that one of la she's final major rallies happened in severe rain. the center right christian democratic candidate's campaign has been marred by difficulties. angela merkel even had to step off the sidelines to try to help laschet win votes. be proud of this par latarian. we will do everything to continue on this work in the coming years and we ask for your trust this coming sunday. laschet has been trailing in the polls and has been stru

since becoming chancellor in november of 2005, mrs. merkel has become one of the most powerful women in the world, the de facto leader of the eu and a symbol of stability across the continent. it is unclear who is likely to fill her shoes with polls showing the race is just too close to call. while i do want to go straight to berlin, fred pleitgen is standing by. people are coming to vote. what is the mood? what is the feeling right now where you are? >> reporter: well, i think there is certainly a decent feeling of excitement, i would say here in the air in berlin. the polling station that you see behind me is getting fuller. some of the other polling stations we have been to earlier today, you did see people already actually lining up at some of the polling stations before they even opened. so i do think a lot of germans do understand this is a key election, a pivotal election, and certainly an election that no doubt is going to bring change. as you already noted, it is the first time in 16 years that angela merkel is not going to be on the

but mrs. merkel will remain in office, for now. it will likely be some time before we know who will succeed her. a new governing coalition will need to be formed. a process that could take weeks, even months. cnn's frederik pleitgen joins us now, live, from berlin. great to see you, fred. it appears germany's social democratic party scored a narrow victory here. what is the latest on these results and, of course, what it all means? >> yep. yeah, certainly seems as though that is the case, rosemary. and i have to say, it was one of the most exciting elections that i've certainly seen here in germany in the past two decades. really, a very narrow one that for a very long time was also much too close to call. but now, as the results have come in, this -- the preliminary results, it certainly looks as though the social democrats appear to have a mandate to try and form a government. in fact, right now, we are waiting for the main candidate, olaf scholz, to give a short statement. and we believe that like yesterday night or last night,