Merkel on course for re-election after victory in rival’s heartland
ANGELA MERKEL appeared on course for a historic fourth term as German chancellor yesterday after winning a crushing victory in regional elections seen as a bellwether of the national mood.
In the last major vote before September’s general election, Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) seized control of North Rhine-westphalia, Germany’s most populous state and a traditional stronghold for her main rival, Martin Schulz.
According to initial exit polls, the CDU won 34.5 per cent of the vote in elections to the state parliament, compared with 30.5 per cent for Mr Schulz’s Social Democrats (SPD) – a swing of more than 16 points.
The scale of the victory installed Mrs Merkel as firm favourite to triumph again in September, while Mr Schulz’s campaign looked in deep trouble after the SPD lost a state it has controlled for all but five of the past 50 years.
“I’ve taken a real hit tonight,” a visibly shaken Mr Schulz said. “I’m not a magician. We have to think what my share of the responsibility was.”
The “Schulz mania”, which briefly took hold of Germany in the wake of Mr Schulz’s appointment as party leader, has evaporated. The party has now lost three state elections in a row under his leadership, but it is North Rhine-westphalia that will hurt the most.
The state is home to 18 million people, almost a quarter of Germany’s population, and the vote was dubbed a “mini-general election” by the press.
Party workers at the SPD election headquarters stood in silence as the results came in. The final opinion polls predicted a narrow defeat for the party, but nothing as resounding as this.
“We have won the heartland of the Social Democrats,” Peter Tauber, the CDU’S jubilant general secretary, said.
“This is a bitter day for the Social Democrats,” Katarina Barley, the SPD general secretary, said. “It is our heartland. Losing it is particularly bitter.”
Mrs Merkel appeared to sense that the SPD citadel was there for the taking in the final stages of the campaign, taking time off from government business in Berlin to dash to the state no fewer than four times in the past week.
A little over a year since she faced plummeting approval ratings over her refugee policy, she now looks on course for a stunning comeback.
The far-right Alternative for Germany party (AFD), seen as the main threat for much of last year, suffered another disappointing night, winning only 7.8 per cent of the vote after its leader, Frauke Petry, was sidelined in an internal party coup. In more good news for Mrs Merkel, the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), a traditional ally of her party, came third with 11.8 per cent.
The Social Democrats pledged to come back. “The SPD boxer has suffered a body blow, but he’s still standing,” said Ralf Stegner, the deputy party chairman.
♦ Austria is heading for a snap election that could put the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) in power. Christian Kern, the chancellor, said he expected a vote to be held in the autumn after Sebastian Kurz, who is expected to take over as leader of his junior coalition partner called for an election. The FPÖ, which narrowly lost the vote for the presidency last year, is currently leading in the opinion polls.