14 Mar 2021
BERLIN (AP) – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “centre-right” party was headed for clear defeats in two German state elections on Sunday at the hands of popular governors from parties further to the left, projections showed six months before a national vote that will determine who succeeds the country’s longtime leader.
Sunday’s votes for new state legislatures in the southwestern states of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate kicked off an electoral marathon that culminates in the national election on Sept. 26. The national vote will determine who succeeds Merkel.
Amid discontent over a sluggish start to Germany’s vaccination drive, with coronavirus restrictions easing only gradually and infections rising again, Merkel’s Union bloc has been hit over the past two weeks by allegations that two lawmakers profited from deals to procure masks early in the coronavirus pandemic.
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Merkel Party Braces For Drubbing In German State Polls By Pauline CURTET with Michelle FITZPATRICK in Frankfurt
on March 14 2021 3:11 PM
Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives are bracing for a rout in two key regional polls Sunday, with voters expected to punish Germany s largest party for a face-mask corruption scandal and a series of pandemic setbacks.
The votes for new regional parliaments in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Wuerttemberg are seen as a bellwether of the nation s mood ahead of September 26 general elections which will be the first in over 15 years not to feature Merkel.
Things aren t looking good for the conservatives. Recent surveys have shown that support for Merkel s centre-right CDU/CSU alliance has fallen to a one-year low at around 30 percent as Germans sour on its coronavirus crisis management.
Chancellor Merkel party braces for drubbing in German state polls
14 Mar 2021 Chancellor Angela Merkel attends an event. File photo Gulf Today Report
Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives are bracing for a rout in two key regional polls Sunday, as German voters go to the polls in regional elections in two western states that pose an early test of the conservative Christian Democrats prospects of retaining power in a federal vote later this year.
Voters expected to punish country’s largest party for a face-mask corruption scandal and a series of pandemic setbacks.
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Chancellor Angela Merkel, in power since 2005, is not seeking re-election in September and her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is already missing the Merkel bonus she has brought them with four consecutive national election victories.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party has suffered heavy losses in two state elections, as the long-ruling leader fights corruption scandals and looks to choose a successor for this year’s elections.