The actual political power and head of government is the Chancellor ("Bundeskanzler"), who is elected by federal parliament ("Bundestag"). The Chancellor is typically elected in the first session of a newly elected Bundestag for the entire legislative period of four years. The parliament can only force the Chancellor to resign in a ''constructive motion of no-confidence'', if it elects at the same time a new Chancellor. The current Chancellor is [[Angela Merkel|Dr. Angela Merkel]]. The current government <ref>http://www.bundesregierung.de</ref> is a "grand coalition" between the two largest parties, the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD).
===2009 election===The left lost sseats in state and EU elections in 2009. A general election is scheduled for September 27, 2009. The SDP promises to create 4m jobs over the next ten years if it wins. However, polls show the leftist SDP trailing the conservative Christian Democrats by large margins.
===Legislative Branch===