Summary
28 September 2009
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is beginning talks with the pro-business Free Democrats on forming a centre-right coalition. Mrs Merkel's CDU/CSU bloc is back in power after a sweeping victory in Sunday's general election.
Reporter:
Jonny Dymond
Angela Merkel has been re-elected in Germany's general vote
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Report
There are some long days of talks to come, but the shape of Germany's new government is clear.
Angela Merkel can dump the centre-left Social Democrats she has uncomfortably cohabited with for four years, and instead invite the pro-business Free Democrats to join her as a junior partner. Together they will have a comfortable majority in parliament. Ms Merkel described the result as amazing.
Her opposite number, Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier had a terrible night, his party battered down to just 22.5% of the vote. It was, he said, a bitter defeat.
Jonny Dymond, 大象传媒 News, Berlin
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Vocabulary
- there are some long days of talks to come
the discussions to form a coalition government will go on for a while but it's not known (as indicated by the word some) exactly how much time and effort they will take
- the shape
here, the essence, the overall political character
- dump
get rid of
- uncomfortably cohabited with
here, had no other choice but to work with
- a comfortable majority
here, many more seats
- her opposite number
here, her political rival who is head of another political party
- battered down to just
suffering great disappointment after receiving only
- a bitter defeat
when someone loses in a contest heavily and/or against their expectations
