Germany: CDU Loses Lower Saxony: State Defeat Heralds Tough Re-Election Fight for Merkel

[marmar]

from Der Spiegel:



Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a setback in Sunday's state election in Lower Saxony, where her center-right alliance was ousted by the center-left opposition. The defeat comes just eight months before the general election and indicates that her bid for a third term could be tighter than expected.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats suffered a defeat in Sunday's state election in Lower Saxony, depriving her of the boost she had been hoping for ahead of the September general election and indicating that she will have to fight harder for a third term than many had expected.

It was the 12th consecutive setback in a state vote for her party, and even though the election is still eight months away and Merkel remains highly popular, the opposition Social Democrats and Greens have smelt blood. They won a combined 46.3 percent against 45.9 percent for the center-right alliance of the CDU and the struggling pro-business Free Democratic Party. That will enable the center-left to govern with a majority of one seat in the Lower Saxony state parliament after the cliffhanger vote.

"I won't deny it, after such an emotional roller coaster such a defeat is all the more painful, so we are all sad today to some extent," Merkel told a news conference on Monday. But, matter of fact as ever, she shrugged off the implications for her re-election, saying: "We don't have a campaign for the general election, that will come later, we have a whole series of serious problems to solve, the economic situation is fragile , we want to ensure that the labor market situation remains as it is or can even improve a little, we have big tasks in Europe." ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/merkel-s-reelection-bid-suffers-setback-in-lower-saxony-election-a-878719.html

[ananda]

1. Good

..

[DetlefK]

3. The CDU is not that bad. Their junior-partner is the problem.

The FDP is strong pro-capitalism, but at the same time very liberal on social issues.

They were the king-makers for a half-century, because they decided with which of the major parties to ally, essentially deciding who would be able to form a government. They have become the "go-to"-coalition-partner for the CDU, whenever they are some seats short of a majority. This gives the FDP leverage beyond its share of the votes and forces a stronger capitalist stance on a CDU-FDP-government than a CDU-government would have by itself. (Just like Teapartiers and Republicans.)

About 20 years ago the Greens appeared on the national stage and shortly afterwards a far-left socialist party (founded from the remains of the communist regime of East Germany).
Since then, the influence of the FDP has waned more and more. She's now down to ~5%, but that doesn't matter: If they make into a parliament and if you want to add their seats to your majority, then you have to accept their conditions of pro-capitalism-bills.

[pampango]

2. "Lower Saxony is the latest in a long list of major defeats for the CDU in some of Germany's biggest

regional states. It lost North Rhine-Westphalia, population 17 million, last year, and the conservative bastion of Baden-Württemberg, a wealthy industrial region, in 2011.

The loss of Lower Saxony, home to VW and Germany's fourth-largest state by population, is an additional blow because it means the center-left parties have an increased majority in the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat. That will make it harder for Merkel to get legislation approved."

"The Greens scored their best ever result in the state, jumping 5.7 points to 13.7 percent."

Looks bad for Merkel and good for the left, but the national election is still expected to be very close according to the story.