German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU party triumphed in the country’s election Sunday, and is hoping for the first single-party majority in more than 50 years.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative CDU party triumphed in the country’s election Sunday, and is hoping for the first single-party majority in more than 50 years.

Exit polls showed CDU just short of winning an absolute majority.
While Merkel was headed for a third term, her center-right coalition partners faced ejection from parliament for the first time in post-World War II history.

Depending on what parties end up in parliament, Merkel could also find herself leading a “grand coalition” government with the left-leaning Social Democrats or – less likely – with the environmentalist Greens. Either way, that would likely to take several weeks of difficult negotiations.

Merkel, Germany’s chancellor since 2005 and the de facto leader of the response to Europe’s debt crisis over the past three years, told supporters it was “a super result.”

She wouldn’t immediately speculate about the shape of the next government, but the 59-year-old made clear she plans to serve a full term.

“I see the next four years in front of me and I can promise that we will face many tasks, at home, in Europe and in the world,” Merkel said during a television appearance with other party leaders.

If her current coalition lacks a majority and the conservatives can’t govern alone, the likeliest outcome is a Merkel-led alliance with the Social Democrats. The two are traditional rivals, but governed Germany together in Merkel’s first term after an inconclusive 2005 election.