Germany's Merz faces first state election test
The Straits Times
BERLIN, March 6 - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces his first electoral test since taking office last May on Sunday, when voters go to the polls in the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, offering his party a chance to reclaim dominance. Read more at straitstimes.com.
BERLIN, March 6 - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces his first electoral test since taking office last May on Sunday, when voters go to the polls in the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, offering his party a chance to reclaim dominance.
There will be four more state elections this year.
Baden-Wuerttemberg, home to Mercedes-Benz and a historic centre of Germany's car industry, was for years a stronghold of Merz's conservatives. But for the past decade, his Christian Democrats (CDU) have been the junior partner in a Greens-led coalition there.
Opinion polls suggest the partnership will continue, although it is unclear whether the CDU's candidate - 37-year-old newcomer Manuel Hagel - or the more experienced Cem Ozdemir from the Greens will come out on top to replace the popular Green premier, Winfried Kretschmann.
With the latest poll for the broadcaster ZDF putting the two neck-and-neck on 28% support, a victory for the Greens could stir internal party discontent with Merz, whose own ratings have hit record lows.
Still, moderate former agriculture minister Ozdemir would be unlikely to cause serious problems for the government in the Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament that represents the states.
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