Merkel confirmed as Chancellor of Germany for third term The Bundestag in Berlin has confirmed Angela Merkel as Chancellor of Germany. The 59-year-old begins her third term as the head of the government of the biggest economy in the eurozone after a secret ballot among the 631 deputies. Four hundred and sixty two voted for her, 150 against while there were 9 abstentions. The vote paves the way for her new grand coalition to formally take power nearly three months after the election in which she and her party achieved the best result for over two decades. The result in the Bundestag with Merkel accepting the invitation to lead the government was a formality with the ruling parties holding an overwhelming majority. Merkel will travel to France on Wednesday for a meeting with the French president Francois Hollande before going on to Brussels and an EU summit aiming to clinch a deal on the bloc banking union.