Despite Far-Right Gains, Angela Merkel Wins Fourth Term in German Election (Video)

Merkel’s Party Wins 32.5% of the Vote

Exit polls have projected that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has won a fourth term in Germany.

Merkel’s CDU/CSU party, comprised of the Christian democratic political alliance of two of Germany’s political parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, has won 32.5% of the vote, the BBC reported.

Behind Merkel’s party fell Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) at 20%, and in third, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party at 13.5%. The BBC has previously reported that the party, which campaigned largely on anti-immigration and Islamaphobic platforms, would garner only 12%.

Merkel spoke to supporters following the projections, saying that while she had hoped for a “better result,” the CDU “musn’t forget, looking back at an extraordinary challenge, that we nevertheless achieved our strategic objectives.”

“We are the strongest party,” Merkel continued. “We have mandate to form the new government and we will form the new government.”

Merkel addressed the arrival of the AfD, noting that “we want to regain those voters… to discover their concerns and worries. We want to win back the AfD voters above all through good politics.”

You can watch her full speech below, via the BBC:

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