Photo Gallery Merkel vs. Steinmeier
Angela Merkel, the incumbent chancellor of the center-right Christian Democratic Union has a number of plus points that no one can take away from her: Her eastern German background won her points in that region in the 2005 federal election. And she's Germany's first female leader, winning her points with female voters.
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Merkel vs. Steinmeier TV Debate
Neither Angela Merkel nor Frank-Walter Steinmeier are big polarizers, and they're not prone to polemics. Both are known to refrain from below-the-belt attacks. So they're both starting out equal in terms of the quality of their public appearance.
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Merkel vs. Steinmeier TV Debate
One of Merkel's strengths is that she has learned a lot in terms of body language. She flirts, throws glances and can unsettle even the most powerful statesman with her impish smile.
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Merkel vs. Steinmeier TV Debate
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, current foreign minister and deputy chancellor with the Social Democratic Party, pictured here with German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück, has increasingly been trying to convey his well-grounded knowledge in brief sentences, copying the rhetoric of his erstwhile mentor Gerhard Schröder, the former chancellor.
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Merkel vs. Steinmeier TV Debate
Political analyst Richard Schütze, believes that unless Steinmeier manages to conjure something up out of his sleeve, he's unlikely to be able to knock the chancellor off her throne. Angela Merkel as the incumbent has the advantage of status.
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Merkel vs. Steinmeier TV Debate
Steinmeier during a visit to a plant at car-maker Opel earlier this year. It has been difficult for him to fill the shoes of former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer because he can't match the rhetorical skills of his predecessor.
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Merkel vs. Steinmeier TV Debate
Steinmeier's rhetoric is administrative and bureaucratic, but a key strength is that he also knows how to tackle highly complex political problems.
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Merkel vs. Steinmeier TV Debate
Guido Westerwelle, head of the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP) makes a great effort to be entertaining and he's good at using puns to ram his point home.
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Merkel vs. Steinmeier TV Debate
Westerwelle remains plagued by his old problem -- he's consumed by ambition and puts himself under immense pressure.
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Merkel vs. Steinmeier TV Debate
Sunday's TV debate will be broadcast by four networks, and some 20 million Germans are expected to tune in. Political pundits are hoping the encounter will breathe life into what has been a spectacularly dull campaign so far.
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Merkel vs. Steinmeier TV Debate
