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SDP joins Merkel's party in coalition
'Grand' coalition makes Die Linke the official opposition
Left-wing Die Linke party MP Gregor Gysi took over as leader of the opposition when Germany's two largest parties united in a "grand" coalition.
The ostensibly left-of-centre Social Democratic Party (SDP) ditched its principles in favour of throwing its support behind conservative leader Angela Merkel, shooing the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader into a third term as chancellor.
She was elected by parliament's lower house by a record majority of 462 votes to 150, with nine abstentions.
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