Bavarian poll loss shakes Merkel’s coalition
Chancellor’s allies suffer worst results in the German state in 70 years
German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed yesterday to “win back trust” from voters after squabbling within her three-party coalition was blamed for severe election losses in the state of Bavaria.
Looking back at a turbulent year since 2017 general elections, which saw painful coalition talks followed by harsh infighting on immigration, she conceded that “a lot of trust has been lost”.
Her governing partners the CSU and the SPD suffered heavy losses, where the CSU took a 10-point dive to 37 percent, losing ■ its absolute majority in the Alpine state it has ruled since the 1960s.The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), dropped to 9.7 percent, halving their support in their worst-ever result in any state poll.
The biggest winners Sunday were the opposition Greens, who surged to become Bavaria’s second strongest party with 17.5 percent, drawing support especially in big cities like Munich.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has railed against Merkel’s 2015 decision to keep open German borders to a mass influx of refugees and migrants, scored 10 percent.
Right-wingers happy
Their success was cheered by right-wing leaders including Marine Le Pen of France and Italy’s Matteo Salvini, who said that “in Bavaria, change has won”.
In Berlin, the GroKo (grand coaliton) leaders are now nervously looking ahead to another landmark regional vote at the end of the month.