Merkel wins German Poll

German Chancellor Angela Merkel maintains the priority of her second term in office will be to return prosperity to Europe's largest economy. Merkel, who rose to power in Sunday's election, will now open talks with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP). She believes a coalition between them and her centre-right CDU/CSU bloc will offer the best chance for recovery. In her victory speech, Mrs Merkel said she wanted to be a chancellor of all Germans at a moment of crisis and that protecting and creating jobs would be her highest aim. Accepting the defeat, SPD leader Frank-Walter Steinmeier said his party would be vigilant in opposition.