In the regional election In Berlin, Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) suffered such a setback that Berlin will have the very first left-wing triple coalition in its history.
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Merkel’s party won about 18 per cent of the vote in Berlin, not enough to allow it to continue as the junior partner in a governing coalition with the Social Democrats.
The strong AfD showing, thanks to support especially in the vast tower block districts in Berlin’s former communist east, meant it has now won opposition seats in ten of Germany’s 16 states, a year ahead of national elections.
Although the CDU has been traditionally weak for the past 15 years in Berlin, its new retreat just further complicates the task of Chancellor Merkel, who has lately been criticized by her own political family for her management of the migrant crisis. “I$3 repeated the “We can make it” [phrase] far too often”, Merkel said, commenting on her oft-quoted statement with regard to the refugee and migrant crisis.
The most likely: a three-way coalition between the SPD, Greens and the Linke (Left) party – a political premiere in Germany. The results are seemingly backlash from Merkel’s open-door immigration policies, which have led to an influx of refugees.
“Berlin is not any old city” the Social Democrat politician added, “Berlin is the city that transformed itself from the capital of Hitler’s Nazi Germany into a beacon of freedom, tolerance, diversity and social cohesion”.
The results from the Berlin state election has raised more doubts about whether Europe’s most powerful leader will stand for a fourth term.
The result compounds Ms Merkel’s problems after a rout in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern two weeks ago triggered calls from her conservative allies in Bavaria to toughen up her migrant policy.
Sigmar Gabriel, the national head of the Social Democrats, which govern in a coalition with Merkel’s Christian Democrats, said “we don’t find it good” that the AfD will now be represented in the city-state of Berlin’s parliament.
Merkel’s CDU took just 17.6 percent of the vote in elections to the Berlin state legislature, down from 23.3 percent in 2011. And that one year of the next parliamentary elections.
AFD’s State chairman, Georg Pazderski, told supporters that it was the first time in 66 years that a party went zero to double-digits points in Berlin.
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Recent polls show national AfD support exceeding 10 percent and the party is likely to enter the federal parliament in a general election next year.
