Merkel Ducks Disaster as Wulff Wins German Presidency
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Chancellor Angela Merkel averted an unprecedented political setback as her candidate for the German presidency, Christian Wulff, won the largely ceremonial post only after three ballots.
The secret vote by the 1,244-member assembly of federal lawmakers and state delegates, stretching over more than nine hours yesterday, marks “a serious shot across the bow for Merkel,” said Richard Stoess, a political scientist at the Free University in Berlin. While the result won’t bring down the government, it’s “a disaster for her image and her standing.”