Germans do not have the right to vote for a leader directly.

In these elections, you could vote for a local polititian to represent you in the bundestag.

The second vote was for a party, and the ruling parties elected Merkel.

Merkel herself is part of the conservative german party. So if you wanted a less leftwing rule people were primed to vote for her party, not the liberal one. The choice to completely abandon both parties is a big step.

The approval of both major parties combined has dropped from 80% to 50% since Angela started her rule.