Winfried Kretschmann of the Greens was re-elected as Minister-President of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Image: GETTY)
“Who can blame them after almost 16 years of being governed by Angela Merkel?
“The sheer duration of the incumbency is an important factor here.”
Assessing the election results yesterday, CDU general secretary Paul Ziemiak acknowledged: This is not a good election evening for the CDU.”
The CDU has seen its national popularity wane from 40 percent last June, when Germany was widely praised for its response to the coronavirus pandemic, to around 33 percent this month.
Angela Merkel factfile (Image: Express)
With Mrs Merkel due to step down as Chancellor after September’s federal elections, clouds of uncertainty are gathering, not least because it is far from certain who will replace her.
By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read
FRANKFURT, March 8 (Reuters) - A German lawmaker from chancellor Angela Merkel’s party said on Monday he would stand down from the national parliament immediately for receiving payment after brokering procurement deals for face masks for local authorities.
“In order to avert further damage for my party, I withdraw from my Bundestag mandate,” said Nikolas Loebel the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) party in a statement.
Loebel came under fire after saying on Sunday that he would he resign from the CDU faction but keep his seat in the lower house until general elections in September.