Chancellor Merkel faces defeat in Berlin

(Baonghean.vn) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is likely to suffer another defeat within just 2 weeks in the vote taking place today (September 18) in the capital Berlin. Because voters are expected tostillwill continue to express discontent with her open-door refugee policy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces multiple defeats in local elections due to her controversial refugee policy. Photo: Reuters

The anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is hoping for another victory, stemming from a wave of German public protests against Chancellor Merkel's decision a year ago to open the borders to immigrants.

The parliamentary election in the German capital begins at 8am local time (0600 GMT). Around 2.5 million people are eligible to vote and will decide who will represent them.

Polling stations will close at 6pm local time (16:00 GMT, 11pm Vietnam time). Exit polls will be announced shortly afterwards. Preliminary results are expected half an hour later.

The outcome of the vote is crucial for Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Defeat would add to pressure on the chancellor just a year before a crucial general election next year and could deepen divisions within her conservative coalition.

A predictable defeat for Merkel in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern two weeks ago has prompted calls from her conservative allies for her to consider tightening immigration policy, such as imposing a cap of 200,000 refugees per year.

However, Ms Merkel has rejected this solution. She has also continued to defend her approach to finding a European solution to the migration problem by securing the continent's external borders, agreeing migrant deals with countries such as Türkiye and distributing refugee quotas across Europe.

Recent setbacks and a drop in popularity have raised questions about whether Merkel will survive a fourth term and remain Europe’s strongest leader. Her party has floated a few alternatives in recent years, but Merkel remains the clear frontrunner.

The latest polls in Berlin by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen research agency for ZDF show that the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has only 18% support, down 5 points from the 2011 election and behind the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) at 23%. Meanwhile, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has 14%, the Greens have 15% and the left-wing Die Linke party has 14.5%.

Khang Duy

(According to Reuters)