Merkel's conservatives thump rivals in German regional vote

[webfact]

Merkel's conservatives thump rivals in German regional vote

By Paul Carrel and Oliver Denzer

REUTERS

 

Bonn, Germany - 04/05/2017 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel waves next to CDU's top candidate Armin Laschet (L) at an election rally. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/Files

 

BERLIN/KIEL, Germany (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives won a decisive victory over their Social Democrat (SPD) rivals in a vote in Germany's northern state of Schleswig-Holstein on Sunday, boosting her prospects of winning a national election in September.

 

Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) fetched 33 percent of the vote in Schleswig-Holstein, up from 30.8 percent in the last election there in 2012, projected results for broadcaster ARD showed. The SPD won 26.2 percent, down from 30.4 percent.

 

The result leaves the CDU short of sufficient support to rule alone in the state, but means the SPD cannot continue to govern in coalition with the Greens and the South Schleswig Party (SSW), which represents the ethnic Danish minority.

 

"I am disappointed," said the Social Democrats' national leader, Martin Schulz, whose party has now suffered two regional election defeats to Merkel's conservatives this year.

 

"This is a big success for the CDU," he added.

 

The SPD enjoyed a revival in the opinion polls early this year after nominating former European Parliament president Schulz in January as its candidate to run against Merkel.

 

But the "Schulz effect" failed to deliver in the western state of Saarland, where his party flopped in a March poll.

 

The result in Schleswig-Holstein, a region of 2.3 million voters that juts north of Hamburg and borders Denmark, is an even bigger blow for the Social Democrats because they have been the main ruling party there since 2012.

 

"The Schulz locomotive has gone from 100 to 0 in only two state elections," said senior CDU politician Jens Spahn. "The hot air of the SPD party congress has little to do with reality in the country."

 

Should the SPD be unable to form a coalition government with other parties in Schleswig-Holstein, it will be the first time since 2012 the party has lost power in a state election.

 

The Greens won 13.3 percent of the vote in the state, the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) 11.5 percent and the SSW 3.5 percent. The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has recently been losing support after a bout of infighting, scored only 5.6 percent.

 

The CDU's lead candidate in Schleswig-Holstein, Daniel Guenther, when asked about coalition options, said he was ruling nothing out but that he was closest to the FDP and always ready to talk to the Greens, raising the possibility of a black-yellow-green so-called 'Jamaica coalition', alluding to Jamaica's national flag.

 

In a fractured national political landscape, such diverse coalition scenarios could also come into play after September's federal election. Merkel's conservatives share power at national level with the SPD and neither wants to continue the arrangement.

 

THIRD TEST LOOMS

 

A third regional vote, in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) next Sunday, offers Merkel's conservatives a chance to defeat the incumbent SPD again and build momentum in her bid to win a fourth term in office in September.

 

SPD Secretary General Katarina Barley said the Schleswig-Holstein vote was a "bitter result" for the Social Democrats, but hoped her party would fare better next Sunday in NRW, traditionally an SPD stronghold .

 

"That will be a different game altogether," she said of NRW.

 

Merkel, who won the endorsement of former U.S. president Barack Obama on a farewell to Berlin visit last November, is presenting herself to voters as a crisis manager and Europe's anchor of stability.

 

Schulz has responded with a focus on fighting inequality, trying to sharpen the SPD's policy edge, which has been blunted by spending seven of the last 11 years sharing power as junior coalition partners with Merkel's CDU at the national level.

 

That arrangement turned voters off the two big parties and fed the rise of the AfD last year.

 

The FDP's candidate Wolfgang Kubicki said Sunday's result showed the SPD would have to broaden its election platform if it wanted to topple Merkel in the federal election in September.

 

"The Social Democrats have to become more innovative than just offering their slogan of fairness, fairness, fairness", he said.

(Additional reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Angus macSwan/Richard Lough/Susan Fenton)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-05-08

[Srikcir]

Looking forward to Trump congratulating Merkel when she wins once again to be Chancellor of Germany.

 

[maximillian]

51 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Looking forward to Trump congratulating Merkel when she wins once again to be Chancellor of Germany.

 

Wishing Trump would tell her what I am thinking of her. He can afford it.

 

But seriously, the Merkels and Schulzes are made of the very same mud. Another big coalition under Merkel or Schulz; what difference does it make ?

Forget elections; it's time for voting with feet and fists.

[dunroaming]

1 hour ago, maximillian said:

Forget elections; it's time for voting with feet and fists.

How does that work then?   We should all take up kick boxing?

[pitrevie]

2 hours ago, maximillian said:

Wishing Trump would tell her what I am thinking of her. He can afford it.

 

But seriously, the Merkels and Schulzes are made of the very same mud. Another big coalition under Merkel or Schulz; what difference does it make ?

Forget elections; it's time for voting with feet and fists.

Yeah the policy the Germans once adopted and it worked out rather well for them.

[thecyclist]

29 minutes ago, dunroaming said:

How does that work then?   We should all take up kick boxing?

AN occupy wall street on a more massive and consistent scale would do it, even without the kickboxing.Unfortunately, it looks like the totalitarian control of big money is still firmly in place in all pseudo-democracies of the west.The Merkels/Mays/Macrons/Trumps are just puppets in a quasi fascist system , strings ultimately pulled by a tiny minority of superich.

[JAG]

2 hours ago, maximillian said:

Wishing Trump would tell her what I am thinking of her. He can afford it.

 

But seriously, the Merkels and Schulzes are made of the very same mud. Another big coalition under Merkel or Schulz; what difference does it make ?

Forget elections; it's time for voting with feet and fists.

Germany tried that before.

 

Didn't work out well....

[ilostmypassword]

1 hour ago, thecyclist said:

AN occupy wall street on a more massive and consistent scale would do it, even without the kickboxing.Unfortunately, it looks like the totalitarian control of big money is still firmly in place in all pseudo-democracies of the west.The Merkels/Mays/Macrons/Trumps are just puppets in a quasi fascist system , strings ultimately pulled by a tiny minority of superich.

Life is just awful in Germany. Great medical care for all its citizens. Tuition-free universities. Serious technical training for blue collar workers with well-paying jobs.  It's a nightmare state.

[maximillian]

6 hours ago, dunroaming said:

How does that work then?   We should all take up kick boxing?

You are right, I didn't express myself well enough.

 

How about a Nationwide General Strike ? 

And Massdemonstrations like the Country has never seen before ?

Not possible as the German economy is doing so fine. Export Champion and so...

"Musterland" of Neoliberalism and Turbocapitalism.

[maximillian]

6 hours ago, pitrevie said:

Yeah the policy the Germans once adopted and it worked out rather well for them.

 

Arrrgh, I wasn't suggesting "Nazi style follow the leader". 

Rather the opposite, like the Marchrevolution 1848 or the Novemberrevolution 1918.