Dark future for Merkel after election defeat

The German Social Democrats have won an absolute majority in Hamburg's state elections, while the conservative CDU lost more than half of its share of the vote and government. This is a devastating start to a year with seven state parliament elections for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, writes the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera: "The magnitude of this defeat demonstrates what an impact negative public opinion on the national Christian Democrat (CDU) and Liberal (FDP) government has had. After the debacle in Hamburg the future doesn't look too rosy for Frau Merkel. Next months there will be state elections in Baden Württemberg, an important state which has always been a Christian Democrat stronghold. But here too, the CDU is likely to lose. The discontent and tensions within the Chancellor's party are growing. Moreover the plagiarism scandal involving Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and the rebellion of numerous EU countries against her Eurozone reform plan aren't exactly helping matters."

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