BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's conservative chancellor Angela Merkel may have won her fourth consecutive national election, but she faces a huge challenge in trying to forge a three-way alliance between parties far apart on the political spectrum.
Despite winning most votes, Merkel's bloc slumped to its worst result since 1949 and, just as significant in terms of government building, her current Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners said they would go into opposition after slumping to 20.7 percent in projections, a post-war low.