German Chancellor Angela Merkel shakes hands with her challenger, the top candidate in the upcoming German general elections of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Peer Steinbrueck, during their TV duel in Berlin, September 1, 2013. REUTERS/ARD/Max Kohr/Pool
BERLIN (Reuters) - Eight years ago Angela Merkel stared gloomily at the election results with disbelief when her party crashed to 35.2 percent of the German vote, seven points below the opinion poll forecast.
Her poll lead melted away again on election day four years later, though her conservatives stayed in power despite their worst result since 1949. Indeed her Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have fallen short of forecasts in the last six elections.
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