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Angela Merkel

BERLIN. – German Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term on Sunday, but now faces the tricky prospect of forming a coalition with two disparate new partners after voters weakened her conservatives and a nationalist, anti-migrant party surged into parliament.

Merkel’s centre-left challenger, Martin Schulz, conceded his Social Democrats had suffered a “crushing election defeat,” with projections showing the party’s worst performance in post-World War II Germany.

He vowed to take his party, the junior partner in Merkel’s outgoing “grand coalition” of Germany’s traditionally dominant parties, into opposition.

“We have a mandate to form a new government, and no government can be formed against us,” Merkel told cheering supporters. She added that it wasn’t a “matter of course” to finish first after 12 years in power, and that the past four years were “extremely challenging.”

Stressing that “we live in stormy times” internationally, she declared: “I have the intention of achieving a stable government in Germany.”

The biggest winner was the 4-year-old Alternative for Germany, or AfD. It finished third after a campaign that centered on shrill criticism of Merkel and her decision in 2015 to allow large numbers of migrants into Germany, but also harnessed wider discontent with established politicians.

One of AfD’s leaders, Alice Weidel, said it will provide “constructive opposition.” But co-leader Alexander Gauland struck a harsher tone, vowing that “we will take our country back” and promising to “chase” Merkel.

Final results released shortly before 4 am yesterday showed Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and their Bavaria-only allies, the Christian Social Union, winning 33 percent of the vote – down from 41.5 percent four years ago. It was one of their weakest post-war showings.

Schulz’s Social Democrats were trailing far behind, with 20.5 percent support, down from 25.7 percent in 2013 and undercutting their previous post-war low of 23 percent eight years ago. – AP.