Pre-election polls give her conservative Union bloc a lead of 13 to 17 points over the center-left Social Democrats of her challenger, Martin Schulz. They put Schulz’s Social Democrats around or below the 23 percent they won in their worst showing yet in post-World War II Germany, in 2009. Hans Kundnani, an expert at the German Marshall Fund think-tank, said it’s a “foregone conclusion” that Merkel will be the next chancellor. A government with the Free Democrats aboard might take a tougher stance on efforts to reform the eurozone and bail out strugglers. Schulz says he still hopes to win over undecided voters, arguing that Merkel has no vision for the future.

Source: Washington Post September 22, 2017 07:19 UTC