Merkel's party scores major victory in Germany's most populous state election
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives have scored a significant victory in the country's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, a victory that could signal public support for Merkel's party in September's general election.
Initial results from the vote count on the morning of May 15th showed the Christian Democratic Party leading with 33 percent of the vote, compared to its main rival, the Social Democrats, with 31 percent.
The results also show that the Social Democrats lost nearly eight percent of their votes in 2012. After the election, Hanler Kreft, the prime minister and leader of the party in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, resigned from his position.
North Rhine-Westphalia, in the west of Germany, is home to nearly 20 percent of the country's population; its capital is Düsseldorf and it is home to four of Germany's ten largest cities: Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Cologne. Another important point about the state is that it has long been a political stronghold of the Social Democrats. This will change the leadership in the state parliament, which has so far been a coalition of the Social Democrats and the German Green Party.
At the same time, this victory could indicate the general attitude of the German people towards the Christian Democratic Party in the September general elections 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 Merkel's main rival in the September election.
Preliminary results show the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) winning more than 12 percent of the vote, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has won more than 7 percent of the vote. The Greens (Greens) have won 6 percent of the vote, more than the minimum of five percent required, and are also likely to enter parliament. The far-left Die Linke (Die Linke) has failed to reach the minimum of five percent required to enter the state parliament.
Source: Radio Farda
