BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkelhas fractured her pelvis in a cross-country skiing accident andis walking with the help of crutches, forcing her to call offsome foreign visits and official appointments, her spokesmansaid on Monday.
Merkel fell while skiing over the Christmas vacation. Whatshe first thought was heavy bruising turned out to be a partialfracture, meaning she must take it easy for three weeks and workfrom home where possible, said her spokesman Steffen Seibert.
"The chancellor is of course able to work and is in fullcommunication," said Seibert. He added that Merkel's accidentoccurred "at low speed" but he declined to give further details.
The chancellor has postponed a visit to Warsaw scheduled forWednesday this week and will not receive Luxembourg's new primeminister, Xavier Bettel, on Thursday, Seibert said.
But she will lead a cabinet meeting on Wednesday which willbe the first gathering of all the ministers in the new "grandcoalition" government of her conservatives and the centre-leftSocial Democrats (SPD), which was formalized last month.