BERLIN (AA) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel described early exit polls as a "super result" as her conservative bloc flirts with absolute majority.
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) coalition received over 42 percent of the votes, the ARD television says, the parties' best performance since 1990.
Merkel's coalition partner Free Democratic Party (FDP) braces for the worst election results in party history as it stands at 0.3 percent below the 5 percent threshold, losing nearly ten percent since last elections and faced with the danger of being left out of the federal assembly for the first time.
Main opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) head Sigmar Gabriel congratulated Merkel for what appeared to be a decisive victory, adding that SPD for its part increased its votes but the results were nonetheless behind expectations.
FDP’s failure to cross the 5 percent threshold strengthens the widely discussed “Grand Coalition” scenario between the conservative CDU/CSU and the Social Democratic Party, provided that CDU/CSU bloc fails to get absolute majority.
