German Election: Chancellor Merkel's Heavy Defeat

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party suffered heavy defeats in three states, although it remains the strongest party in Saxony-Anhalt.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) suffered a major defeat in the regional elections in three states yesterday (March 13). According to preliminary election results announced on the ARD television channel, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party unexpectedly won seats in the parliaments of all three states of Rheinland-Pfalz, Sachsen-Anhalt and Baden-Würtemberg.

Chancellor Angel Merkel. Photo: AFP/VNA

In the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, Ms. Merkel's Christian Democratic Union came in second, with 33% of the vote, behind the Social Democratic Party (SPD- 37.5%). The "Alternative for Germany" party got 10% and entered the state parliament for the first time. In the stateSaxony-AnhaltThe Christian Democratic Union remained the strongest party in the lead, with around 30% of the votes, but the historic result belonged to the party “Alternative for Germany” when it won 22.8% of the votes and became the second strongest regional party in the state, above both the Left Party and the Social Democratic Party.

Even in the traditional state of Baden-Würtemberg, the Christian Democratic Union only won second place (about 27.5% of the vote), behind the Green Party (32%). This is the first time in its history that the party has lost its position as the strongest party in this southwestern German state.

According to analysts, the strong rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party in this election will put considerable pressure on the ruling coalition in Germany, forcing Chancellor Merkel to reconsider current policies, especially related to solving the immigration crisis. With yesterday's election results, the Alternative for Germany party has seats in the parliaments of 8 states across Germany and this will be the premise for this party to move forward to the general election next year./.

According to VOV