Chancellor Merkel defeats her foreign minister , exit polls indicate . Voters chose members of the lower house of parliament , or Bundestag , who will pick the head of government . `` This is a bitter defeat , '' says challenger Frank-Walter Steinmeier . Merkel 's center-right network got 33.7 % of vote , TV reports . Steinmeier 's center-left Germans received 33.7 % , Christian Democratic Union says .
Chancellor Merkel defeats her foreign minister , exit polls indicate . `` This is a bitter defeat , '' says challenger Frank-Walter Steinmeier . Merkel 's center-right network got 33.7 % of vote , TV reports . Steinmeier 's center-left Germans received 33.7 % , Christian Democratic Union says .