Sunday, 22^nd of September, will be held the elections for the position of Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, known as the head of government, the third most important person in the state which also has the most responsibility of all the first mentioned.  Since 2005, this position was managed by Angela Merkel who now is ending her second mandate. The current Chancellor of Germany is leading the CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union/ Christian Social Union) grouping knows as the Union.

The main opponent of Angela Merkel is Peer Steinbrück, the Social Democratic challenger. Even if he is known as an expert in finance with potential for this position, statistics say that Angela Merkel is the favourite. Peer Steinbrück’s proposals were to raise taxes for rich people and ensure that women are fairly treated in the labour market, targeting an improvement in the percentage of women working. With respect to his potential party ally, he is rather choosing the Greens than the party of Angela Merkel.

Concerning the main challenges that the two candidates were confronted with, we heard questions about how additional funds for Greece will be obtain and which are the next steps needed in order to make progress in the banking union process, as it is one of the top priorities of the leaders of the European Union.  Also, there were raised questions about situations as the worrying unemployment rate in the Euro zone, the fragile situation of the economy of Spain, the way that Portugal will face the terms imposed by the bailout and the situation of Slovenia which is struggling not to become a country which need additional aid. Why are we mentioning these facts? Because Germany is known as the engine of the Euro zone and it has the decision-making power concerning the matters related to the European continent.

Expectations are indicating that Angela Merkel will begin a third mandate and will continue to lead the country for the next 4 years as it did so far. Considering that Germany maintained its position as the second largest exporter in the world and the biggest economy in Europe, Angela Merkel is considered to be the most appropriate person to lead Germany in the following years. The future promises to be tough, as the Euro zone needs to completely overcome the financial crisis and strength its economy.