Angela Merkel, Germany's cool and collected chancellor, will go head-to-head Sunday with her fiery challenger Martin Schulz in their only television debate before this month's general elections, in a crucial match that could sway millions of voters. Merkel, who has mostly avoided referring to Schulz or any other election candidate by name, has so far refused to be drawn into a combative debate. "If an election campaign is defined as good only when people insult each other, then that's not my idea of what an election campaign is about," she said at her annual summer press conference. To critics who argue that the campaign is boring, Merkel would only say that "for me, it is not boring. Critics said Merkel had blocked changes that would have allowed for greater spontaneity and deeper debate during the show.

Source: The Local September 01, 2017 06:56 UTC