What Does Angela Merkel's Win Mean For Defence?

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has won a fourth term, despite voters weakening her conservative party and a nationalist, anti-migrant party surging into parliament.

Ms Merkel's centre-left challenger, Martin Schulz, conceded his Social Democrats had suffered a "crushing election defeat", with projections showing the party's worst performance in post-Second World War Germany.

Ms Merkel told cheering supporters that it wasn't a "matter of course" to finish first after 12 years in power and that the past four years were "extremely challenging".

Stressing that "we live in stormy times" internationally, she declared:

"I have the intention of achieving a stable government in Germany."

But What Does It Mean for the World of Defence?

Germany’s defence budget became a major election issue during the campaign and Ms Merkel’s win will be seen as a boost for NATO.

Ms Merkel announced an increase in the country’s defence budget should she win the election.

The promise was used by Mr Schulz’s campaign to link Ms Merkel to Donald Trump's calls for Germany and other NATO allies to pay more.

His Social Democratic Party (SPD) hoped to win over voters who disagree with Donald Trump.

The German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) declared defence as a key issue and said that the electorate would need to decide whether Germany "remained a force for peace or followed Trump's armament madness".

Last month at the SPD conference, Martin Schulz and Thomas Oppermann, who heads the center-left party in parliament rejected the NATO target of spending 2% GDP:

In an essay for the Funke Mediengruppe newspaper chain, the two leaders wrote: “We say a clear no to the ‘two-percent target’ of Trump and the CDU/CSU.

“It’s not only unrealistic, it is simply the wrong goal.”

What Is Angela Merkel’s Stance On Defence?

Germany currently falls short of the NATO target but that may soon change if Ms Merkel’s promises are kept.

Merkel has repeatedly pointed to perceived U.S. isolationism under Trump and the threat posed by a resurgent Russia as reasons to spend more on defence.

The German chancellor has also highlighted the instability in Africa and the Middle East as reasons why Germany and Europe must play a more active role in regional security.

Angela Merkel and her centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party want to significantly increase spending from 1.2% of GDP (€37 billion) to reach the 2% NATO target.

Whilst analysts see it as unlikely that Germany will fulfill the 2% pledge anytime soon, the budget for the Bundeswehr will almost certainly rise.