That election saw the nationalist, anti-migrant Alternative for Germany party win seats in parliament for the first time, drawing some votes from conservatives fed up with a leftward drift under Merkel. "But she must rebut the suspicion that she was brought into the office of general secretary as Angela Merkel 2.0." She also has a taste for a political gamble that Merkel has lacked in recent years. Her re-election last year was the first of a series of events that sapped then-Social Democratic leader Martin Schulz's challenge to Merkel. "She is entering party headquarters without a network, she is not in parliament; she is taking a risk.

Source: ABC News February 23, 2018 10:18 UTC