Merkel reasserts authority at helm of CDU

Article reports that Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, has brushed aside criticism from within her Christian Democratic Union about her policies and leadership style, January 2010, and reasserted her authority at the helm of the country’s largest political party.

In addition, she met her CSU and FDP coalition allies on the 17 January 2010 to thrash out agreements in key policy areas after a bitter row over tax cuts and fiscal discipline threatened to rock her cabinet.

Spiegel Online International, 13.1.10: Germany's Conservatives Head for the Political Center http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,671478,00.html

Deutsche Welle, 17.1.10: Germany's Merkel meets coalition partners to end friction http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5136869,00.html

ESO: Background information: Merkel to fight back against CDU critics http://www.europeansources.info/record/merkel-to-fight-back-against-cdu-critics/

ESO: Background information: Cracks widening in German coalition government http://www.europeansources.info/record/cracks-widening-in-german-coalition-government/

---