Merkel's Gay-Marriage Pivot Makes Her Harder to Beat

A contentious issue that wasn't part of the German election campaign has now taken center stage: gay marriage. Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose Christian Democratic Union party has always opposed it on religious grounds, has acted deftly to defuse the crisis. At the risk of angering some of her conservative voter base, she's letting same-sex marriage get through parliament as soon as this week.

The CDU enjoys a big poll lead over all other parties. Given a booming economy and a widespread perception that Merkel has successfully managed the refugee crisis, few lines of attack are available to her rivals. As large pride parades rolled through German cities in late June, they pounced. All three potential members of the CDU's ruling coalition after the September election -- the Greens, the pro-business Free Democrats and the Social Democrats (SPD) -- have announced that they wouldn't rule with Merkel's party unless it agreed to allow "marriage for all," as the policy is known in Germany.