NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA ELECTION

Things are not going well for Angela Merkel. There has been a trail of defeats in state elections. But she is not down and out

The most recent example is North Rhine-Westphalia which includes Cologne and Dusseldorf and includes the Ruhr Valley.This is Germany’s largest state (lande) with a population of 13 million people. And it has acted as an electoral bellwether.

The election was called because the minority Social Democratic Party Government could not get its’ budget passed. Al Jazeera reported the SPD attracted 38.9% of the vote and is due to form a government with the Greens.The CDU vote was reduced from 35% to 26.3% while the Free Democrats, the usual Christian Democratic partners restored their fortune with 8.3% and with The Pirate Party with 7.8% attracted enough support over the 5% threshold to give parliamentary representation.

The vote looks very fractured. Chancellor Merkel emitted sounds of pain describing the result as “bitter” and “painful” but saying that “the work in Europe will not be affected” and asserting she saw no “conflict between sound budgetary policy and growth”. She definitely not talking about Keynesian economic policy prescriptions for Germany or Southern Europe.

Here is one reading of election results:

Related articles

• Merkel’s new vulnerability (salon.com)
• NRW election: Merkel admits ‘bitter’ defeat – BBC News (bbc.co.uk)
• Testing times as Merkel struggles to regain support (smh.com.au)
• Angela Merkel dealt further blow by German voters in key state election (guardian.co.uk)
• You: Merkel weighs up party’s crushing defeat in state vote (france24.com)
• The Elections In This Bellweather German State Are Being Described As A ‘Catastrophe’ For Merkel (businessinsider.com)
• German voters reject Merkel’s austerity pitch – Sydney Morning Herald (smh.com.au)
• Will Germany’s Merkel bend on austerity? (humanevents.com)
• German state election deals blow to Angela Merkel’s party – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
• Germany’s Merkel Says Election Loss Will Not Affect Austerity Stance (blogs.voanews.com)

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