By Alison Shale & Jack Ewing, New York Times, Sept. 23, 2013

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel took steps on Monday to form a new government, a day after she scored a stunning personal triumph in German national elections that cemented her position as the most powerful politician in Europe.

Ms. Merkel became the only major European leader to be re-elected twice since the financial crisis of 2008, winning a strong popular endorsement for her mix of austerity and solidarity in managing the troubled euro zone.

On Monday morning, Ms. Merkel met with leaders of her center-right Christian Democratic party to discuss strategy for forming a coalition government, most likely with the center-left Social Democrats, who finished second in the polling [....]

Ms. Merkel said Monday that she did not expect German policy toward the euro zone to change, a statement that is likely to come as a disappointment to other European leaders who hoped she would be open to bolder action once the election was behind her [....]

The surprising show of strength for Ms. Merkel and the Christian Democrats — even their own polls had not suggested such a result — was just short of an absolute majority, according to preliminary results published on Monday. No chancellor has achieved an absolute majority since Konrad Adenauer in 1957 [....]