German Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and Vice-Chancellor Frank-Walter Steinmeier of the Social Democrats (SPD) were both elected today to lead their parties' state representations in September's general election, according to dpa. The two leaders, united in a governing CDU-SPD coalition, are contesting the race to be the next chancellor after elections in September. On Saturday, the opposition Green Party also fired the starting gun for the country's general election campaign as it became the first party to launch its manifesto with calls for a "Green New Deal," which it says would create a million new jobs. Merkel will lead the CDU in the state of Mecklenburg-Pomerania, while Steinmeier was voted to the top of the SPD list in Brandenburg. The chancellor said the economy had weathered the worst of the crisis, in light of projections that the German economy would shrink 6 per cent in 2009. Next year, Merkel said, a figure of "plus/minus zero growth" could be expected. Steinmeier criticized the CDU and its Bavarian Christian Socialist (CSU) sister party for a lack of ideas to tackle the economic crisis. "This crisis is no operational accident," Steinmeier said.
