German Chancellor and chairwoman of the German Christian Democratic Party (CDU), Angela Merkel, left, laughs after she handed over a bunch of flowers to the CDU top candidate for the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, right, prior to a meeting at the party’s headquarter in Berlin, Germany, Monday, May 15, 2017 one day after the elections in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. (AP/RSS Photo/Michael Sohn)