German news agency dpa says Angela Merkel will seek a fourth term as Germany’s chancellor in general elections next year.
Dpa, citing sources at the Berlin headquarters of Merkel’s Christian Democrat party, reported Sunday that she would seek re-election.
If Merkel wins in 2017 and serves the entire four-year term, she would match her one-time mentor Helmut Kohl’s post-war record of 16 years in office.
The 62-year-old became Germany’s first female head of government in 2005. She also is the first leader of a reunited Germany to have grown up under communism in the former East Germany.
Merkel is widely seen as a stabilizing force in Europe amid the refugee crisis, Britain voting to leave the European Union., and the election of Donald Trump.
In response to the election of Mr. Trump, Merkel penned an op-ed with President Obama.
“Today we find ourselves at a crossroads—the future is upon us, and we will never return to a pre-globalization economy. Germans and Americans we must seize the opportunity to shape globalization based on our values and our ideas. We owe it to our industries and our peoples—indeed, to the global community—to broaden and deepen our cooperation,” the two leaders wrote in a joint op-ed in the German daily Wirtschaftswoche.
They wrote that both the U.S. and Germany work hard to ensure international law and norms are respected around the world and they underscored their commitments to NATO.
During his presidential campaign, Trump was critical of the German leader’s decision to open Germany’s borders to let in hundreds of thousands of refugees.
Over the summer he said, “Hillary Clinton wants to be America’s Angela Merkel, and you know what a disaster this massive immigration has been to Germany and the people of Germany.” But in September, he praised the German leader and said he admires her.
