国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Merkels party wins commanding yet lower votes as far-right AfD to debut in parl_时事

国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Merkels party wins commanding yet lower votes as far-right AfD to debut in parl

BERLIN, Sept. 24 -- The conservative union led by German sitting Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday defended its commanding role in the Bundestag (German parliament) with 32.5 percent of the vote, falling short of expectations with a 9-percentage-point gap compared with the election four years ago.

The union's main rival, Germany's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by former European Parliament president Martin Schulz, also suffered a big setback in Sunday's election.

Meanwhile, the far-right party Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) unexpectedly made a historical breakthrough with 13.5 percent of votes, and became the third strongest party in the Bundestag.

国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Merkels party wins commanding yet lower votes as far-right AfD to debut in parl1

LOWER SUPPORTS BUT MERKEL SAYS CDU REACHED ITS GOAL

The lower than expected margin will still offer a decent chance for Merkel to claim her fourth term as Chancellor.

Senior official of the CDU Volker Kauder told reporters after the election that the CDU had reached its expectation in the election, and Merkel will remain in office as chancellor and will be granted the mandatory to form the new cabinet.

In a televised speech after the election, Merkel told her supporters that "we have clear government mandate, and no government can be formed without us", admitting that her bloc had reached strategic goal in election though she had hoped for better results.

She also promised to win back voters of AfD with good policies, vowing to fight against illegal immigrants while protecting interests of legal citizens.