Voters inflict huge defeat on Merkel
GERMAN leader Angela Merkel suffered a crushing defeat in local elections yesterday, after voters voiced their opposition to the Greek bailout at a time of austerity at home.
In a shock blow to Merkel’s efforts to keep the Eurozone intact, the Social Democrats (SDP) received 38.8 per cent of votes in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Greens 12.2 per cent, enough to form an anti-Merkel, anti-austerity coalition.
Her Christian Democrats (CDU) gained just 25.8 per cent of the vote, according to initial estimates, down sharply from 35 per cent in 2012 and the party’s worst performance in the state since the Second World War.
That is despite German unemployment falling to just 5.6 per cent under Merkel compared to a Eurozone average of 10.9 per cent.
Merkel is due to meet incoming French President Francois Hollande tomorrow, when the two will try to find common ground between her fiscal discipline and his demands for more state spending.
French Socialists yesterday stepped up their anti-Merkel rhetoric, with spokesman Benoit Hamon saying: “She cannot be the sole decider of Europe’s fate based on German interests… We did not vote for a President of the EU named Mrs Merkel.”
A defeat on this scale could weaken Merkel’s negotiating position domestically, too, as she needs the support of rival parties to pass the fiscal compact that aims to promote budget responsibility across the Eurozone.
And she faces a national election battle in 18 months’ time, mid-way through her now unpopular domestic austerity programme.