Merkel Will Need Opposition Support Despite Historic Third-Term Victory

Fell short of an absolute majority

Despite winning the German parliamentary election, the ruling conservative coalition has finished just short of an absolute majority, leaving it with the difficult task of seeking the support of the Opposition Social Democrats for a grand coalition.

The conservative bloc led by Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) won 41.8 percent of votes in Sunday's election to the Bundestag, Lower House of the German Parliament. It was their strongest performance since 1990, but the world's most powerful lady politician now faces the unsavory prospect of having to court her leftist arch-rivals -- the main Opposition, the Social Democrats (SPD) -- to rule the biggest European economy for a historic third term.