CHAPTER 1 GERMANY'S FIRST FEMALE CHANCELLOR In September 2005 Angela Merkel arrived at a postelection debate in Berlin Germany Merkel was the leader of the Christian Democratic Union CDU She had run against Gerhard Schröder to become Germany's next chancellor Schröder was the leader of the Social Democratic Party SPD He had been Germany's chancellor since 1998 The 2005 election had been close Both Merkel and Schröder claimed victory The German capital of Berlin is home to more than 3 5 people million
In Germany there is both a chancellor and a president The president fills a ceremonial role The chancellor is the head of the government To become chancellor a leader must be elected by the German parliament called the Bundestag But in the 2005 election neither candidate's party had won a majority in the Bundestag That meant the CDU and SPD would need to form a coalition government In a coalition government more than one political party shares power Merkel arrived at the debate at the same time as Schröder An usher opened the door for Merkel and said Welcome Mrs Chancellor Schröder told the usher that Merkel wasn't the chancellor In the debate Schröder yelled at Merkel and said his party would never negotiate with her As the weeks passed the CDU and SPD failed to build coalitions with Germany's smaller parties
A Gerhard Schröder passed the chancellor's office on to Angela Merkel on November 22 2005 So they agreed to form a coalition between the two of them The Bundestag voted on which party leader would be chancellor Schröder's attack on Merkel had turned public opinion against him Merkel won She became Germany's first female chancellor She was also the first chancellor from the eastern part of the country
