Merkel re-elected by party to lead it into 2017 polls

German Chancellor Angela Merkel secured the blessing today of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to lead the party into next year's elections, but with one of the poorest results in the history of such polls.
Delegates of the centre-right CDU voted 89.5 per cent for her to remain at the helm, in the second worst score achieved by Merkel.