German Chancellor Angela Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a news conference at the end of a euro zone leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, July 13, 2015. Euro zone leaders agreed on a road map to a possible third bailout for near-bankrupt Greece, but Athens must enact key reforms this week before they will start talks on a financial rescue to keep it in the European currency area. Reuters/Philippe Wojazer

German chancellor Angela Merkel may run for a fourth term in office and is planning her 2017 re-election campaign. Ms Merkel has been ruling Germany since 2005. The news was reported by Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine though the spokeswoman of Merkel’s party, Christian Democrat Party, refused to confirm the news. Ms Merkel is Germany’s eighth post-war chancellor.

Merkel, 61, has been heading Europe's biggest economy for a decade and led the country unscathed in the 2008 financial crisis as well as euro zone turmoil. Given her popularity as a mass leader and little constraints from term limits on chancellors, Ms Merkel is expected to have a smooth sailing, if she contests. The last CDU chancellor, Helmut Kohl, ruled for 16 years before losing to Gerhard Schroeder in 1998.

Popular leader

According to a survey by the Emnid agency, Ms Merkel’s CDU and Bavarian allies have risen in popularity with 43 percent support. The poll indicated that the highest level of support is the best since 2005 and owes “exclusively” to the popularity of Ms Merkel, reports Irish Times.

The news weekly Der Spiegel also reported that Ms Merkel has held many strategic meetings with CDU general secretary Peter Tauber and party manager Klaus Schueler to discuss the campaign road map. The report claimed that Merkel’s campaign operations would be “based in CDU party headquarters and staff workers are being recruited."

Meanwhile, an AFP report said Angela Merkel’s willingness to run for a fourth term in 2017, is actually the result of pressure from her Conservative allies, who are excited by opinion polls that showed their high winning prospects for an absolute majority. The same was endorsed by Horst Seehofer, head of the Bavarian Christian Social Union, who said it is “possible with a Chancellor Angela Merkel.” In the beginning, Ms Merkel ran a grand coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats and then later allied with pro-business Free Democratic Party.

Tough leader

Reflecting on Ms Merkel’s leadership skills, one political commentator wrote in Sydney Morning Herald that among all the major European powers, it was Merkel's Germany that showed the firmest resolve in resisting Russia. He noted that while the US under Mr Obama was seen dithering over what to defend and what to resist, Merkel's Germany showed some spine in Europe. The analyst noted that under Merkel’s leadership, economically as well as strategically, German power has been on display as the solid core of the Western world.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au)

RELATED STORIES