Angela Merkel: Twelve years in power and still an enigma

The Week traces the German Chancellor's rise to lead Europe's largest economy

Angela Merkel
(Image credit: Jochen Zick - Pool / Getty Images)

If Angela Merkel steers her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party to victory in the German federal election on Sunday, she will be on course to lead the country for a fourth consecutive term.

The CDU has maintained a steady, double-digit lead over its closest rival, the centre-left Social Democratic party, throughout the campaign. Merkel is in pole position despite her open-arms refugee policy, which led to an influx of more than 1.1 million migrants to Germany in 2015 and 2016.

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