She was not a resistance fighter, yet she was skeptical of socialism; but then she went ahead and joined the Communist youth party. She's not open about her life's choices.

It could be her first large setback but let's wait and see.

People see Merkel as an alternative out of their desperation. She may not be, but that's how they see her now.

No one in the history of postwar German politics has risen from nowhere so fast and so far.

Never before has a new government hit the public with so many burdens.

She appeals to the German brain, if not the German heart. She doesn't inspire strong emotions. But she does inspire strong thinking about what is truly best for the nation.

The existence of this Left Party is going to make it so much harder for either the centre-left on the one side or the centre-right on the other to form a coalition for a long time.

Angela Merkel believes fiercely that Germany needs a freer, more individualistic society, and more market-oriented economy, precisely because she grew up in the very opposite -- in the communist east.

She has a cool personality. She does not easily express her emotions. That may explain why people have difficulty identifying with her.