BREAKING: Merkel takes oath of office for fourth term

German Chancellor Angela Merkel takes the oath before Wolfgang Schaeuble, president of the Bundestag (lower house of parliament), as she is sworn in as Chancellor during a session at the Bundestag in Berlin. Photo: AFP

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday took the oath of office in parliament, launching her fourth-term government in Europe’s biggest economy.
Lawmakers in Berlin’s glass-domed Reichstag had elected her with a margin of 364-315 with nine abstentions. Merkel was then formally appointed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier before taking the oath of office in the lower house.