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Merkel ignores Islamic threats before German vote
 Ignoring threats by Islamic militants, Chancellor Angela Merkel and her main rival held their final political rallies Saturday before Germany's national election, focusing on the key domestic issues of jobs and economic recovery.Two videos surfaced Friday -- one by al-Qaida and another by the Taliban -- threatening retaliation for Germany's military presence in Afghanistan. The Taliban video showed top German landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and Munich's world-renowned Oktoberfest. In response, authorities on Saturday banned all flights over Oktoberfest until it ends on Oct. 4. The annual 16-day beer festival, which was targeted by terrorists in 1980, draws some 6 million visitors from around the globe. Security had been already tightened around the country after the first Islamic threats two weeks ago, with many more officers now visible at airports and train stations. Merkel hopes to win a second four-year term in Sunday's national election and ditch her conservative party's "grand coalition" with her main rivals, the center-left Social Democrats, led by her foreign minister and challenger, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The 55-year-old chancellor wants to form a new center-right government with her preferred partners, the pro-business Free Democrats. "Germany needs stability," Merkel told supporters on Saturday. "Stability is only possible with a strong (Christian Democratic) Union in a coalition with the FDP." But a poll published Friday underlined how close Sunday's race could be, with Merkel's sound lead being whittled away in the past weeks. The survey by the Forsa institute showed her Christian Democrats with only 33 percent of the vote, compared to 37 percent over the summer.The Social Democrats polled 25 percent and the Free Democrats had 14 percent, enough for a razor-thin lead with the Christian Democrats. The Greens polled at 10 percent and the Left party at 12 percent. However, the two major parties have ruled out any coalition with the Leftists. The survey of 2,001 people gave a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. At his party's final rally in Dresden, Steinmeier accused Merkel of lacking the creativity to govern and warned that a victory for her party and the Free Democrats would benefit only the wealthy. "Tomorrow's election is not just a decision for the next four years, but will decide (Germany's) direction for the coming decade," Steinmeier said. Posted by: Fred 2009-09-27 |
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