ELECTIONS | 20.02.2011

Merkel's party hammered in state elections

 

Merkel had campaigned for her party in Hamburg

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) suffered a heavy blow in state elections in the northern city of Hamburg on Sunday. The results could have wider implications for national politics.

 

Early results indicated that the Christian Democrats (CDU) had obtained just 20 percent of Sunday's vote according to German public television, a disappointing result for Merkel as her party contests the first of seven crucial state elections this year.

The opposition Social Democrats (SPD) won 49.5 percent of the vote, in increase from 34.1 percent in 2008, public broadcaster ARD said. The SPD was projected to win 65 seats in the Hamburg state assembly, four more than needed for an absolute majority.

This result will enable the SPD's Olaf Scholz to take over as city mayor from CDU incumbent Christoph Ahlhaus. Scholz, 52, is a former German labor minister.

"This is a painful day for the CDU in Hamburg," outgoing mayor Ahlhaus said. "This moment leaves us stunned."

The SPD's Olaf Scholz will be the city's new mayor

"This is a historic result, not just for us, but also for others," a triumphant SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel said in Berlin. "It shows what the Social Democrats are capable of."

The Greens - who sparked the early election by walking out of a coalition with the CDU in November - were on track to gain 11 percent.

The pro-business Free Democrats, the junior partner in the national coalition with the CDU, were predicted 6.5 percent. This would allow them to re-enter the state parliament, after they failed to pass the 5-percent hurdle in the 2008 elections.

Significance for Berlin

For Merkel, the result means the loss of three seats in the Bundesrat upper house of parliament, making it harder for her government to push through federal legislation.

In the last election in the northern city-state in 2008, the CDU's share of the vote was 42.6 percent, more than double Sunday's score. The drop of 22.1 percentage points was the steepest decline ever between two elections for the CDU.

The result in Hamburg, where Merkel was born, will also send a signal to voters before the other state votes, especially in the southwestern region of Baden-Wuerttemberg where her CDU is also in danger of losing power in March.

Author: Joanna Impey (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Kyle James

 

 

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