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15 Aug 2013
Merkel kicks off election campaign
FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel embarked on the final phase of her campaign for a re-election for a third term. On Wednesday afternoon she addressed her voters is the town of Seligenstadt near Frankfurt, suggesting that Germany's economic future would be the safest in her hands.
The Chancellor expressed her pleasure with the news made known in the European morning that the Eurozone emerged from recession, defending at the same time her push for austerity: "We have seen in Europe what happens when debts are too high. Growth on borrowed money - that's impossible."
Better than expected German GDP data, showing 0.7% growth in the second quarter of 2013, boosted the Chancellor's campaign, giving her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian ally a considerable lead in polls, at 40%. The top rival Social Democrats (SPD) are polling 23%, according to the latest Forsa survey.
Nevertheless, CDU's current coalition partner Free Democrats (FDP) is not faring that well with a support of 5%, which arouses concerns they might may not be able to secure enough votes for parliamentary representation. This might mean that a difficult CDU and SPD “grand coalition” will have to be formed.
Angela Merkel is due to give 56 speeches during her campaign tour, leading up to the elections on September 22.
Marc Chandler, Global Head of Currency Strategy at BBH, explains why the German election is important also for other EU countries: “Merkel has long depended on the opposition SPD and Greens for support for her European agenda. She has tacked to the center and stole some of the SPD's thunder, in terms of using KfW to lend to other state development banks, such as Spain's.” The analyst also adds that “the combination of the summer holiday season and the German elections seem to have sapped official desires to address a number of important issues such as the need for Greek aid and key decisions on the banking union.”
The Chancellor expressed her pleasure with the news made known in the European morning that the Eurozone emerged from recession, defending at the same time her push for austerity: "We have seen in Europe what happens when debts are too high. Growth on borrowed money - that's impossible."
Better than expected German GDP data, showing 0.7% growth in the second quarter of 2013, boosted the Chancellor's campaign, giving her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian ally a considerable lead in polls, at 40%. The top rival Social Democrats (SPD) are polling 23%, according to the latest Forsa survey.
Nevertheless, CDU's current coalition partner Free Democrats (FDP) is not faring that well with a support of 5%, which arouses concerns they might may not be able to secure enough votes for parliamentary representation. This might mean that a difficult CDU and SPD “grand coalition” will have to be formed.
Angela Merkel is due to give 56 speeches during her campaign tour, leading up to the elections on September 22.
Marc Chandler, Global Head of Currency Strategy at BBH, explains why the German election is important also for other EU countries: “Merkel has long depended on the opposition SPD and Greens for support for her European agenda. She has tacked to the center and stole some of the SPD's thunder, in terms of using KfW to lend to other state development banks, such as Spain's.” The analyst also adds that “the combination of the summer holiday season and the German elections seem to have sapped official desires to address a number of important issues such as the need for Greek aid and key decisions on the banking union.”