Angela Merkel is heading for her fourth term as chancellor¹ of Germany, after two-thirds of members of the Social Democratic party voted in favour of a grand coalition² with the veteran leader’s conservative bloc³.

安格拉?默克尔(Angela Merkel)将开始她作为德国总理的第四个任期，此前三分之二的社民党(SPD)成员投票赞成与这位资深领导人所属的保守派政党集团组成大联合政府。

The vote, which ends five months of political stalemate in Berlin, could help restore Germany’s leadership role in Europe at a time of mounting challenges, including a looming⁴ trade war with the US, rising tension over Brexit and French demands for an overhaul⁵ of the eurozone.

该投票结束了柏林为期五个月的政治僵局，可能有助于恢复德国在欧洲的领导地位。欧洲目前面临多重挑战，包括与美国之间一触即发的贸易大战，围绕英国退欧不断加剧的紧张局势，以及法国要求彻底改革欧元区。

Emmanuel Macron, French president, said the result was “good news” for Europe, adding that France and Germany would work together to “push the EU project forward”.

法国总统埃马纽埃尔?马克龙(Emmanuel Macron)表示，该结果对欧洲来说是“好消息”，并表示法国和德国将共同努力“推动欧盟计划向前发展”。

Olaf Scholz, interim⁶ party leader and the man expected to become Germany’s next finance minister, said: “We now have clarity. The SPD will join the next federal government.”

社民党临时领导人、预计将成为德国下一任财政部长的奥拉夫?肖尔茨(Olaf Scholz)表示：“我们现在具有了清晰度。社民党将加入下一届联邦政府。”

Ms Merkel welcomed the decision in a tweet: “I congratulate the SPD for this clear result and look forward to working together for the good of our country.”

默克尔在推文中对这一决定表示欢迎：“祝贺社民党取得这一明确结果，我期待为了我们国家的利益而共同努力。”

If she sees out a full term, Ms Merkel will have governed Europe’s biggest economy for 16 years. Parliament is set to hold a special session to confirm her new government on March 14.

如果默克尔干满一个任期，她对欧洲最大经济体的执政时间将长达16年。德国议会将于3月14日举行特别会议以确认她的新政府。

After weeks of debate, SPD leaders struck a coalition deal with Ms Merkel’s Christian⁷ Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, last month. But the party promised to submit the agreement to a vote of its 460,000-strong base, raising the prospect⁸ of a last-minute reversal that would have probably triggered another election.

经过数周的辩论，社民党领导人上月与默克尔的基民盟(CDU)及其巴伐利亚姊妹党基社盟(CSU)达成了一项联合执政协议。但该党表示，将把这一协议交由46万名党员投票表决，令结果可能在最后一刻逆转，从而引发再次选举。

Rejection⁹ of the coalition agreement would have dealt a blow both to Ms Merkel and the SPD, which had strong reasons to fear another ballot¹⁰. Recent surveys gave the SPD only 16 per cent of the vote, more than four points below the party’s disastrous¹¹ showing at last year’s inconclusive general election.

拒绝联盟协议将对默克尔和社民党双方都造成沉重打击，因为他们有充分理由担心再次选举。近期调查显示，社民党仅能获得16%的选票，比该党在去年未能产生明确胜者的大选中灾难性的得票率还低了4个百分点以上。

Both CDU/CSU and the SPD suffered heavy losses in the September ballot, which saw the far-right Alternative for Germany emerge as the third-strongest party in the Bundestag.

基民盟和基社盟以及社民党在去年9月份的投票中都失去很多席位，而极右翼的德国新选择党(AfD)成为联邦议院(Bundestag)第三大政党。

Yesterday’s result will be seen as a vote of confidence in the new SPD leadership around Andrea Nahles, the head of the SPD parliamentary group who is set to take over as party chief next month.

昨天的结果将被看作是对安德烈娅?纳勒斯(Andrea Nahles)所领导的新一届社民党领导层的信任投票，这位社民党议会党团负责人将于下月接任党魁。