Merkel’s Party Achieves Major Victory in Elections in Germany’s Most Populous State

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party has achieved a significant victory in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state in Germany. This victory may indicate public support for Merkel’s party in the nationwide elections in September.

Preliminary vote count results in the early morning of May 15 show the Christian Democratic Union’s superiority with 33 percent of votes compared to its main rival, the Social Democrats, with 31 percent of votes.

These results also show that the Social Democrats have lost nearly eight percent of their votes from 2012. Following the elections, Hannelore Kraft, the prime minister and leader of this party in North Rhine-Westphalia, stepped down from her positions.

North Rhine-Westphalia, located in western Germany, encompasses nearly 20 percent of the country’s total population; the center of this state is Düsseldorf, and four of Germany’s ten largest cities—Düsseldorf itself, Dortmund, Essen, and Cologne—are located in it. Another important point about this state is that it had long been considered a political stronghold and base for the Social Democrats. Accordingly, leadership in this state’s parliament, which until now had been in a coalition between the Social Democrats and Germany’s Green Party, will change.

Meanwhile, this victory could represent the general approach of the German people to the Christian Democratic Union in nationwide elections in September and even the continuation of Angela Merkel’s chancellorship for a fourth term in Europe’s largest economy.

Martin Schulz, leader of Germany’s Social Democrats, is Chancellor Merkel’s main rival in the September elections.

Preliminary vote results show that the liberal “Free Democratic Party” with over 12 percent and the right-wing and extremist “Alternative for Germany” with over 7 percent of votes have entered the North Rhine-Westphalia parliament. The Greens secured 6 percent of votes, which exceeds the required minimum of 5 percent, and they are also likely to enter the parliament. The far-left “The Left” party failed to reach the required minimum 5 percent threshold to enter the state parliament.

Source: Radia Farda