German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) were on course to win an election in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate yesterday, ahead of their Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners who faced a “bitter” defeat after ruling the state for 35 years.
Early projections showed Merz’s CDU at 30.8 per cent of the vote, ahead of the SPD at 26pc, pointing to a victory for Merz after his party narrowly lost an election in the neighbouring state of Baden-Wuerttemberg on March 8.
CDU general secretary Carsten Linnemann called it a “great result” that showed strong overall backing for the two partners in Merz’s coalition, which nationwide polls indicate has seen a sharp drop in support since elections last year.
“If the result stays this way, the CDU/CSU and SPD will have more than 50pc of the vote, which is also a strong result for the centrist parties,” Linnemann said, referring to the CDU’s sister party in Bavaria.
The two parties are now expected to form a coalition at the state level on the lines of the coalition in Berlin, with CDU candidate Gordon Schnieder on course to replace the sitting SPD premier, Alexander Schweitzer.
For Merz, battling to shore up Western support for Ukraine and facing the looming threat of an energy shock caused by the Iran war, victory in Rhineland-Palatinate was a relief after the narrow loss his party suffered two weeks ago.
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