Analysts have begun to unpack the domestic, regional, and global implications of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Sunday electoral victory, which saw resounding success for her Christian Democratic Union and positioned her to take the helm for a third consecutive term as Chancellor.

The Washington Post labeled the victory “historic” and a “ringing endorsement,” while the New York Times declared that the “stunning personal triumph… cemented her position as the most powerful politician in Europe.”

Coalition negotiations are expected to take weeks to months, and will likely result in an agreement that would see the center-left Social Democrats brought into the government as a junior partner.

Inside Europe, Merkel will continue to push the mix of austerity and financial support that Berlin has long advocated as the solution to the Eurozone crisis.

Benjamin Weinthal, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, yesterday unpacked what her victory might mean further abroad:

To understand German- Israeli relations under Merkel, it helps to compare her positions with those of her adversaries. Merkel’s party – the Christian Democratic Union (along with its sister party the Christian Social Union) – is the only German party to strictly oppose the new EU settlement guidelines. Her party’s statements on the guidelines, which bar EU cooperation with Israeli entities beyond the Green line, declare that the guidelines are not “objective requirements” and urge the EU to modify its regulations…

Prof. Gerald Steinberg, a political science professor at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan and head of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday, “While Germany’s position is often muddled, Merkel has managed to largely avoid the visceral hostility to Israel, Jewish sovereignty equality and self-determination displayed by many European officials.”

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