Chancellor Angela Merkel's Conservatives have suffered their second electoral blow in two weeks. Support for her Christian Democrats (CDU) has plunged to a post-reunification low in a Berlin state vot
ADVERTISEMENTChancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party has suffered its second election blow in two weeks, slumping to its lowest level since 1990.
Voters appear to have punished the German leader’s open-door refugee policy in a Berlin state poll. With the count all but completed her Christian Democrats have come in second on just over 17 percent. down from 23.3 percent in 2011.
It is a severe blow for the CDU, coming two weeks after they suffered heavy losses in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The setbacks have raised questions about whether Merkel will stand for a fourth term next year.
Meanwhile there were celebrations at the head quarters of the Alternative for Germany party (Afd) Although not the winners, voters backed their anti-immigration stance, propelling them into their 10th regional state legislature with over 14 percent.
Sunday night’s victors were the Social Democrats but even they suffered a fall in support notching up just over 21 percent – 7 percent down on the last poll-
The losses for both the biggest parties are being seen as a wake-up call with analysts pointing to a further fragmentation of Germany’s political landscape.