Merkel up for third mandate in 2013

German Chancellor Angela Merkel intends to run for a third mandate in 2013 elections, she said on television on Saturday. "I have high hopes that the Social Democrats will find me an adversary before the next election," the 56-year-old Christian Democrat leader, who has been in her job since 2005 and was re-elected in October 2009, told the SAT1 television channel.
Merkel said she was not concerned that opinion polls placed her behind potential Social Democrat candidates. "When campaigning comes round, I will put myself into it with enthusiasm," she said. Two polls last month found German elites were disappointed with Merkel and the performance of her centre-right government.