Merkel to run for 4th term

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives at the Israeli embassy in Berlin to sign the book of condolence for Israeli ex-president Shimon Peres Sept. 30, 2016.

“I want to serve Germany”, Merkel, 62, told reporters in Berlin after meeting Sunday with members of her party, the Christian Democratic Union.

But her decision to let in more than 1 million asylum seekers over the last two years revived the fortunes of the rightwing populist Alternative for Germany party (AfD), which has harnessed widespread anxiety about migration.

Slightly hoarse but clearly determined after consulting leaders of her conservative Christian Democratic party, Ms. Merkel said the decision to seek a fourth term was “anything but trivial”, for her country, for her party and for herself. Merkel could end up matching the 16 years in office of her former mentor, Helmut Kohl.

The 62-year-old German leader said she had “endlessly” weighed her choice but that in “distinctly hard, even insecure times”, she saw it as her “duty” to stand again. She is the first woman and the first leader raised in Communist East Germany to hold the post.

“I told the CDU that I was ready to stand again”, Merkel said at press conference Sunday.

In the opposition benches, hoping for a change of government after next September’s election, the widespread view was that Dr Merkel was running again because she had no better idea of what to do, but had no new ideas to secure climate-change agreements or to tackle rising right-wing populism. Increasingly, he said, Dr Merkel’s “presidential style” polarises German voters.

She was reluctant however, to be hailed as the new leader of the West. “I understand in politics that it’s our mission as the state to try to solve problems for citizens, to give a framework where people can shape their lives”. A recent survey by the polling firm Forsa found 60 percent of those surveyed want her to stay on as their leader.

No wonder perhaps one newspaper here printed Angela Merkel’s picture this morning under the headline “Alternativlos” (without alternative). She’ll have to find a working relationship with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been sharply critical of her immigration policies, calling them “a disaster”.

Ms. Merkel said that while she felt flattered by the role ascribed to her in the wake of political changes in the USA, she also found it “absurd”.

SORAYA SARHADDI NELSON, BYLINE: Angela Merkel talked about her candidacy in her usual understated manner, but with an uncharacteristic dose of humor. “If Le Pen loses and Renzi survives, Merkel will have a chance to shape European responses to Brexit, the refugee situation, the problems with the euro and Russian Federation”, he said via emailed comments to CNBC.

Merkel has angered many voters with her decision to open Germany’s borders to migrants, mostly from war zones in the Middle East.

General elections are expected in Germany in autumn next year.

In elections in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania earlier this year, Merkel’s party came in third behind the AfD.