Merkel’s allies brace for bruising in polls
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian allies are heading for their worst state election result in more than 60 years in a regional vote on Sunday that is likely to increase tensions within Germany’s fragile coalition government.
According to the latest polls, the Christian Social Union (CSU) should win around 34 percent of the vote, losing the absolute majority with which the centreright party has controlled its southeastern heartland for most of the post-war period. Voting stations opened with sunny weather likely to help turnout.
One of the biggest winners are likely to be the environmentalist, pro-immigration Greens who
are projected to more than double their vote share to up to 19 percent and overtake the centreleft Social Democrats (SPD) as the second strongest party.
The Free Voters regional protest party and the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party are both forecast to win roughly 10%of the vote.
This could complicate CSU state premier Markus Soeder’s efforts to form a stable coalition government in Bavaria.
The splintered electoral result could force Soeder into an awkward alliance with the Greens.
Horst Seehofer, CSU party leader, could face calls to give up at least one of his posts following the Bavarian election as his hard-line rhetoric against asylum seekers is likely to scare away voters.