This is not a farewell.

seven years of empty promises, of following the wrong policies, or of not seeing things through.

[Mrs. Merkel, now 51, could hardly wait to seize the moment to embrace unification.] As far as I have been shaped by politics, I have been shaped by German reunification, ... I am proud to be a politician for all of Germany with East German roots.

Frau Merkel, you are being unfair. Germany is a world leader in exports. We are a leading country in issuing patents. No other country in Europe has these results.

In times of difficulty, Lafontaine simply takes his clothes off and runs away,

The election will be decided in the last few days.