Germany's Merkel involved in traffic accident; no injuries, only slight damage
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a press conference in Berlin , Germany, Sunday Dec. 15, 2013. Germany will get its first female defense minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel's new government, while the country's influential finance minister will stay in his job. Merkel confirmed Sunday that Ursula von der Leyen, currently labor minister, will become defense chief. The 55-year-old mother of seven inherits the job of modernizing the German military and overseeing its deployment in Afghanistan. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, Merkel's co-pilot in fighting Europe's debt crisis, will stay on. Sign reads : Together Successful. (AP Photo/Christian Thiel) (The Associated Press)
German officials say Chancellor Angela Merkel was involved in a traffic accident on a highway near Berlin but there were no injuries and only slight damage.
Police spokesman Ingo Heese said the mirrors of a Berlin man's car and the chancellor's vehicle hit each other on Sunday afternoon. It wasn't clear what led to the accident.
Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said Monday that "the chancellor's driver didn't cause this slight accident."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Merkel, who is to be sworn in for a third term on Tuesday, appeared unruffled by the experience when she appeared at an event in Berlin hours after the accident.