默克爾贏得第四任期但極右民粹勢力崛起

德國總理安格拉·默克爾(Angela Merkel)在聯(lián)邦大選中勝選連任，獲得第四個任期。從選戰(zhàn)三個月前開始以來，這一結(jié)果似乎就不可避免。

然而，她所在的執(zhí)政黨德國基督教民主聯(lián)盟(CDU)的得票率低于預期，而德國極右翼民粹主義勢力激增，贏得的選票超過大多數(shù)民調(diào)者的預測。

官方結(jié)果顯示，默克爾的基民盟和其姊妹黨——巴伐利亞基督教社會聯(lián)盟(SCU)共贏得了33%的選票，使之成為德國戰(zhàn)后第三位贏得第四個任期的總理。

民意測驗專家曾預計基民盟與基社盟能拿下36-39%的選票。

由于基民盟的得票少于預期，而德國有爭議的極右翼民粹主義政黨“德國另類選擇黨”(AfD)的表現(xiàn)好于預期，因此默克爾的勝利可以說是苦澀的。

默克爾在基民盟總部說：“我們?yōu)樾腋：兔篮玫牡聡鴳?zhàn)。”不過，她承認面臨“德國另類選擇黨式的新挑戰(zhàn)”，她還說：“我們希望贏回這個黨的選民，所以我們要注意他們的擔憂。”

德國另類選擇黨輕易跨越了在聯(lián)邦議院中擁有席位所需的百分之五選票的門檻。

有些人把德國另類選擇黨的崛起間接地歸咎于默克爾，該黨似乎曾經(jīng)瀕臨滅亡，而默克爾2015年實行對中東難民的開放政策之后，這個黨起死回生。

德國另類選擇黨在全國的得票率為12.6%，成為納粹時代以來首次有公開支持民族主義的政黨進入德國議會，標志一個對政治演講設限、警惕任何激進表達民族主義言論的國家的一個巨大轉(zhuǎn)變。

德國另類選擇黨領導人彼得里發(fā)推文說，德國經(jīng)歷了“無與倫比的政治地震”。在該黨的總部，支持者喊到：“我們要收復這個國家。”

然而，這仍然可以被視為是默克爾個人的一場勝利。她星期日晚坦言，這是一場艱難的選戰(zhàn)。兩年前，默克爾的政治地位似乎已岌岌可危。當時，選民反對她的移民政策，對她處理南歐的債務危機以及德國不斷加劇的社會不平等感到厭惡。

隨著難民潮的回落和川普贏得美國總統(tǒng)大選，默克爾的民調(diào)有所回升。一些基民盟內(nèi)部人士認為，就像去年英國的脫歐公投一樣，川普因素幫助了默克爾。

Angela Merkel has won a fourth term as Germany's Chancellor in a federal election whose outcome seemed inevitable since the start of campaigning three months ago.

But her ruling Christian Democrats got a lower share of the vote than predicted and Germany's far-right populists surged, securing a bigger vote than most pollsters forecast.

Official results give Merkel's ruling Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, a 33 percent share of the vote, making her one of only three postwar chancellors elected to a fourth term.

Pollsters had expected the CDU/CSU to win between 36 to 39 percent of the vote.

With the lower CDU vote and a stronger showing than expected by Germany's controversial far-right populist party Alternative for Germany, Merkel's win is arguably bittersweet.

"We fought for Germany that lives happily and well," Merkel said at the CDU headquarters. But she acknowledged "a new challenge in the form of the AfD," adding, "We would like to win back AfD voters so we will look into their concerns."

AfD easily cleared the five percent threshold needed to secure seats in the Bundestag.

Merkel is blamed indirectly by some in Germany for the rise of the AfD, which until her 2015 open-door policy for war refugees from the Middle East appeared to be moribund.

AfD grabbed 12.6 percent of the national vote, the first time openly nationalists have entered the German parliament since the Nazi era, marking a sharp departure for a country that has limits on political speech and is wary of any dramatic expressions of nationalism.

AfD leader Frauke Petry tweeted that Germany has experienced an "incomparable political earthquake." At the party's headquarters, supporters chanted, "We are going to take this country back."

Merkel's win can be seen as a personal triumph for her, despite the emergence of the AfD. She acknowledged Sunday night it had been "a difficult campaign." Two years ago Merkel's political position appeared much more precarious with the country turning against her immigration policy and resentment building up over her handling of the debt crisis in southern Europe and increasing social inequality in Germany.

Her poll ratings recovered as the refugee influx ebbed and Donald Trump won election in the United States. Some CDU insiders say the "Trump factor" helped Merkel, as did last year's Brexit vote.