In its second shock victory in less than a month, the Alternativ für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) emerged as the strongest party in Sunday's state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The Left (read: Communist) Party finished first in Berlin's contest.
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the AfD won 38.2% of the vote, good for 32 seats in the 71-seat state parliament. The incumbent Social Democrats were reduced to 35.5% and 29 seats. The Left Party received 6.5% and the Greens 5.7%, giving them five seats each.
The big news, though is that Freddy's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) received only 4.9% of the vote, thus falling below the 5% threshold, thus being shut out of the state parliament for the first time since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The result leaves the existing SPD-Left coalition without a majority, while an SPD-Left-Greens alliance would have enough seats to govern. As has been the case everywhere a rightist party finishes first but doesn't hold a majority, the other parties have ruled out forming a coalition with the AfD.
In Berlin, the loony Left Party finished first in the state election with about 25.3% of the vote, ahead of the CDU at 19%. The AfD received about 16% and the SPD 12.1%. The results have intensified pressure on Herr Merz to quit before things get worse. He is now in full denial mode, refusing to read the handwriting on the wall.
The Grauniad reports today that he has vowed to keep his fractious coalition government together for the good of Germany's "democratic future" after his conservative party "suffered a drubbing at the polls" in the state elections. He intends (he says) to plough ahead with an unpopular reform agenda, and that it is vital that he and his coalition government remained in place. Vital to whom, he didn't say.
No comments:
Post a Comment