Main focus of Monday, August 31, 2009

Conservatives lose heavily in German state parliament elections

The conservative CDU suffered heavy losses in state parliament elections in the German states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saarland on Sunday, but nevertheless remained the strongest force. The social democratic SPD also ceded votes, while The Left scored major gains in Saarland and Thuringia. The European press comments on the power balance in Germany four weeks ahead of the federal elections.

taz - Germany

The conservative CDU party fared poorly in elections in the German states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saarland on the Weekend. The leftist daily Die Tageszeitung nevertheless warns against drawing conclusions about the outcome of the federal elections scheduled for the end of September: "[Regional] specificities don't change the fact that [Chancellor] Angela Merkel is more popular than [SPD chancellor candidate and Foreign Minister] Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and that she would probably have to rob a supermarket on camera to get voted out. ... What is clear is that nothing is clear. If the Greens give it their best shot and the [liberal] FDP loses a few votes then a 'black-green' [CDU-Green Party] coalition is - mathematically - possible. Nevertheless despite all the subtle things that can be said, in a firmly established five-party system ultimately the only viable solution is a new edition of the grand coalition [between CDU and socialist SPD]. We didn't need state elections to tell us that." (31/08/2009)

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All available articles from » Bettina Gaus

Corriere della Sera - Italy

The daily Corriere della Sera writes about the CDU's loss of votes in Germany's state elections: "Frau Merkel's official strategy - a return to political dialectics with the Christian Democrats on one side and the Social Democrats on the other - suffered a major setback yesterday. The fact is that post-war Germany's two major traditional parties - the SPD and the CDU - have lost more and more votes and are no longer in a position to achieve a majority with the help of the FDP, which forms a coalition sometimes with one and sometimes with the other. … Under pressure from the parties, which suffer under a grand coalition, Merkal has said that she wants to revert to the traditional alliance with the Liberals which governed in the times of her mentor [former chancellor] Helmut Kohl. But in reality … she may actually prefer a repeat of the government with the SPD in which she works as chancellor with a weak opposition and has been able to boost her image … as a woman of stability. In her fundamental pragmatism Merkel perhaps wasn't so worried [by the news] yesterday." (31/08/2009)

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All available articles from » Danilo Taino

De Tijd - Belgium

According to the business paper De Tijd Germany's state parliament elections have 'wrecked the plans' of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Given the CDU's vote losses the party can no longer be sure of winning the parliamentary elections, it writes: "The defeats in Saarland and Thuringia make it clear that voters wont be giving the CDU free reign. Merkel and other CDU members warned the Germans of a 'red wave' but the message didn't get through to voters in Saarland and Thuringia. … Merkel wanted to form a centre-right government with the [liberal] FDP in order to avoid the awkward 'grand coalition' model. Until recently it seemed this would be a doddle. But the German voter is making it clear that he always has the final say. The tone of the election campaign is growing markedly sharper. … The next month will decide who moves into the chancellor's office in Berlin. Merkel will probably be able to secure a second term but it's no longer so clear what the political constellation will be." (31/08/2009)

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All available articles from » Jean Vanempten

Mladá fronta Dnes - Czech Republic

The outcome of Germany's state elections in Thuringia, Saxony and Saarland is a warning to the major parties, writes the liberal daily Mladá Fronta Dnes: "Both the Christian Democratic Chancellor Angela Merkel and her greatest rivals, the Social Democrats, lost a significant section of their voters compared to the last elections. The Christian Democrats saw their share go down by as much as 10 percent. With the Bundestag [national parliament] elections due to take place on 27 September this doesn't bode well for the conservatives. The only good news for the Christian Democratic Union is that the outlook is equally gloomy for the social democratic SPD." (31/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Germany
All available articles from » Lucie Suchá

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