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Bloomberg
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition faced a renewed setback with a resounding defeat in a state election and its main ally wavering over support for the government.
Merkel’s Christian Democrats Union (CDU) plummeted nearly 12 percentage points from 2014 to 21.8% in an election for state assembly in the eastern state of Thuringia, according to preliminary results. At the same time, the populist right-wing AfD more than doubled its standing and marginally beat the CDU at 23.4%.
The Social Democrats, Merkel’s junior coalition partner, also lost ground, shedding roughly four percentage points to 8.2%. As a result, the incumbent Left party, which won the election with 31%, will no longer have sufficient support to govern Thuringia with its current alliance that includes the Greens.
“The shock is still deep over the AfD result,†Malu Dreyer, interim chief of the SPD, said.
The result in the eastern German state reflects the increasingly splintered political spectrum in Germany, where traditional centrist parties have been losing steadily. The refugee crisis, climate protests, and an economic slowdown and geopolitical tension in Europe’s backyard have fuelled rifts among and even within political parties.
“Since 1949, we have not had such a result, where the parties of the democratic centre in Germany are unable to form a government,†CDU candidate Mike Mohring said.
It’s the latest sign of trouble for Merkel in the twilight of her chancellorship. Europe’s largest economy has slowed sharply and will expand only a projected 0.5% this year, compared with 2.5% two years ago.
Her designated successor, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, has failed to gain traction in her party, while repeatedly stumbling as she seeks to win back voters from the far-right.