Not gone yet: Merkel to hang on as active caretaker

FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki attend a news conference after meeting in Royal Lazienki Park in Warsaw, Poland, September 11, 2021. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - After 16 years in power, Chancellor Angela Merkel is not seeking re-election in Germany's Sept. 26 election but she is anything but a lame duck.

The likelihood of protracted coalition talks after the vote means Merkel will not be leaving office any time soon and she fully intends to use her time after the election to press on with foreign policy initiatives, government officials say.