Merkel set to begin third term as German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be sworn in as German Chancellor for a third term. Her conservatives secured a huge win in September's election, but not enough to rule alone. Months of negotiations with arch-rivals, the centre-left Social Democrats, followed. A left-right alliance was finally sealed at the weekend when SPD members voted in favour confirming the birth of another "grand coalition" for Germany. "A grand coalition is a coalition for big tasks - and together we want to make sure that people are better off in the year 2017 even better off than today," she said. With her new ministers announced, including Ursula von der Leyen heading up defence, the first woman to be German Chancellor will now get down to work for another four years at the helm of the eurozone's largest economy.