Merkel, allies suffer historic election losses in Bavaria

munich — German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s arch-conservative CSU allies suffered historic losses in Bavaria state elections on Sunday, dealing a blow to her fragile three-party coalition government.

The Christian Social Union (CSU) scored 35 per cent, a humiliating 12-point drop from four years ago in the wealthy Alpine state it has ruled almost singlehandedly since the 1960s.

The poor result means it loses its absolute majority and must scramble for coalition allies — either the conservative Free Voters (11 per cent) or long-time ideological foes the Greens, who were the big winners with a record 1819 per cent support.

State premier Markus Soeder, 51, conceded the result was “painful”, while CSU party chief and national Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said “it was not a nice day for us”.

The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), which rails against Muslims and demands that “Merkel must go”, won 11 per cent and entered the 15th of Germany’s 16 state assemblies.

Merkel’s other national governing partner, the over 150-year-old

Social Democrats (SPD), halved their ballot box support to just below 10 per cent, ceding the position of Bavaria’s second biggest political force to the Greens.

“Debacle for CSU and SPD,” ran the online headline of Bild daily, while Der Spiegel called it a “bitter defeat” for Bavaria’s traditional ruling party.

For Merkel, in power for 13 years, the Bavaria election spells a new headache just over half a year since she managed to forge a fragile “grand coalition” with the CSU and the reluctant SPD. The losses in Bavaria reflect voter dismay over recent coalition infighting in Berlin, conceded the CDU’s general secretary Annegret Kramp Karrenbauer.