' Angela Merkel defeats her foreign policy , exit polls say . ` ` This is a bitter defeat , '' says challenger Frank - Walter Steinmeier . Merkel 's center - right Christian Democratic Union received 33.7 % of vote , TV reports . German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband , Joachim Sauer , vote Sunday in Berlin . Steinmeier 's center - left Social Democrats received 23.4 percent , network says .
' Angela Merkel defeats her foreign policy , exit polls say . ` ` This is a bitter defeat , '' says challenger Frank - Walter Steinmeier . Merkel 's center - right Christian Democratic Union received 33.7 % of vote , TV reports . Steinmeier 's center - left Social Democrats received 23.4 percent , network says .