Nieuwe Duitse regering moet aan de slag in zware economische omstandigheden (en)
Germans are to have a new centre-right and liberal coalition government following elections on Sunday but the results of the vote mean the new coalition may not be any easier for returning Chancellor Angela Merkel to manage than the outgoing government of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats.
"We have reached our election goal of a stable majority for a new government," said a victorious Ms Merkel on Sunday as the results mean that her preferred coalition could be formed without having to rely on controversial "overhang" mandates - votes given to an individual rather than a party.
However, the centre-right performed relatively poorly at the polls, meaning that Ms Merkel's continued reign is largely thanks to the record performance by the free-market liberals of the Free Democratic Party (FDP).
Early results on Sunday evening gave the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) 33.6 percent - the poorest showing at the polls for over 60 years - while the liberals gained five percent over the last elections to secure a result of 14.6 percent.
The Social Democrats, in power for the last four years with Mrs Merkel, saw their worst performance since 1949, receiving 23.1 percent of the vote. The far left Die Linke managed to haul in 12.1 percent of the vote, a record for the relatively new party while the Greens received 10.5 percent, according to results by German public television ARD.
German papers note that the centre-right acknowledged their middling result by constantly repeating that they had realised their "goal of the election."
The strong showing by the liberals is likely to alter the balance of power within the next coalition, forcing Ms Merkel to change her style from a more hands-off approach of presiding over the coalition to one that requires more engagement.
The Liberals, led by Guido Westerwelle, are set to make their relative strength felt immediately with talks on a new coalition to begin on Monday.
Mr Westerwelle, who is looking to the foreign minister post, said his party is looking for tax breaks and more attention to citizens rights.
A key question will be the extent Ms Merkel is willing to engage in thorough labour-market reforms and large tax cuts, greatly favoured by her new political partners but unpopular among the wider German public.
In any case, tough decisions will have to be made quickly. Unemployment is set to rise and consumer spending fall next year as government subsidies, which so far have kept the unemployment rate lower than in many other member states, run out.
The country is also facing a rising budget deficit (expected to reach six percent of GDP in 2010), a credit crunch and huge social security contributions. This has made some economists pessimistic about the extent of room of manouevre that the new government will have.