Angela Merkel races ahead in polls with six weeks to go

[DFW]

8. In German eyes

She also represents the best of the lot among left-wingers. As long as the SPD insists on allowing only "seasoned" old bureaucrats to rise to the level of "Kanzlerkandidat (candidate for Chancellor)," the CDU will beat them if they seem less stodgy, and no mismanaged crisis can be pointed to as a good reason for the electorate to vote for a party change.