国际英语新闻：Merkel seeks quick approval of euro aid package after election setback

BERLIN, May 10 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that her cabinet would approve Germany's contribution in a 750-billion-euro (960 billion U.S. dollars) rescue package of the European Union (EU) as soon as possible to stabilize the euro and fight speculations, one day after her party and coalition partner suffered a "bitter defeat" in a crucial state election.

"The member states of the EU showed a common political will of doing everything for the stability of our common currency," Merkel told reporters in Berlin, hours after the EU unveiled an uNPRecedented multi-billion-euro loan package, which was backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and designed for eurozone countries facing instability troubles.

Earlier in the day, her Christian Democrats (CDU) party and coalition partner Free Democrats (FDP) confirmed a defeat in a crucial state election in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany's most populous state and the main industrial center.

"There's no way around it -- we suffered a bitter defeat," the chancellor and also party leader admitted. Final results in the NRW election showed the CDU took 34.6 percent of the votes, 10.2 percent down from the last poll in 2005, which was also the party' s worst performance in NRW since 1947. Their FDP allies collected just 6.7 percent.

The main opposition Social Democrats (SPD) gained 34.5 percent of the votes, while the Greens won 12.1 percent and the Left Party 5.6 percent.