Angelai Merkel is a painful blow

According to preliminary data, Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) had the worst performance in history in Sunday’s regional elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate.

Sunday’s failure raised questions about the Conservatives’ chances on Sept. 26. in the next parliamentary elections, in which the Germans will elect the successor to the outgoing Chancellor Merkel.

“It cannot continue,” writes Der Spiegel. According to the publication, A. Merkel’s house is “on fire”.

The Conservatives failed in the regional elections due to the slow vaccination of the population, the late start of mass rapid tests and the high number of new COVID-19 cases, despite several months of quarantine.

Just before the regional elections, several CDU politicians and their Christian Social Union (CSU) allies were accused of allegedly profiting from public procurement that ordered masks at the start of the pandemic.

Since then, three Conservative MPs have resigned and the CDU / CSU alliance has instructed all MPs to declare the financial gains from the coronavirus crisis.

In Baden-Württemberg, the CDU received only 24 percent. support for the population, and in this federal state, the Greens won 32 percent. votes. 2016 The CDU had received 27 percent. votes.

In Rhineland-Palatinate, meanwhile, the Social Democrats welcomed victory, with the CDU winning 26 percent. Voter votes. Five years ago, CDU support was 32 percent.

CSU Secretary General Mark Blume called the results of Sunday’s vote a “wake-up call” to the alliance between the CDU and the CSU.

If the largest political bloc wants to remain in power when Merkel resigns after 16 years of leadership, it must “urgently recover.” [visuomenės] trust, ”he said.

“We need clear solutions and a clear direction in the fight against coronavirus,” Blume said.

According to Der Spiegel, the bloc should first decide on a candidate for the post of chancellor.

The new head of the CDU, Armin Laschet, is an obvious choice, but he lacks broad support.

Critics say she lacks a clear political vision other than continuity after the end of the Merkel era.

Mr Laschet must “step out of Merkel’s shadow” and “make clear what the party stands for,” CDU member Andreas Roedder, a historian at the University of Mainz, told Bild.

Public opinion polls suggest that Germans would like to see the popular Bavarian Prime Minister and CSU leader Markus Soeder as chancellor, but he has yet to announce his intention to run.

If Mr Soeder really has the ambition to take over as chancellor, “he must strike now,” wrote the Handelsblatt business daily.

Merkel’s party has vowed not to tolerate attempts by politicians to profit from the pandemic.

German Chancellor Merkel’s conservatives said Sunday that politicians seeking economic benefits from the pandemic will get “zero tolerance” when voters in two major regions punish the chancellor-led CDU (Christian Democratic Union) party in the face of a scandal over the purchase of masks.

The scandal erupted after the CDU and CSU (Christian Social Union) parties received accusations that parliamentarians had benefited from agreements related to the purchase of face masks at the beginning of the pandemic.

CDU party secretary Paul Ziemiak said the scandal had “severely depressed” the Conservatives in the final stages of the election campaign.

“There is no place for the CDU for anyone looking to get rich during the crisis; we have a zero tolerance policy,” Ziemiak said.

German commentators have called the scandal “the biggest conservative crisis” since the 1990s, when there was a scandal involving illegal subsidies to the party.

Additionally, public anger has recently increased due to a slow vaccination campaign, the delayed launch of the free rapid test offer, and the persistently high number of COVID-19 infections, despite months of quarantine.

Early calculations showed that the Merkel-led CDU suffered heavy losses in Sunday’s elections, with voters expressing discontent over the lack of control over the spread of the coronavirus and the mask acquisition scandal.

According to polls by public service broadcasters ARD and ZDF, the CDU received the lowest electoral support in history in elections to the new regional parliaments in Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg.

These elections are being closely monitored as a barometer of the mood of the country’s population ahead of the general elections on September 26, when Merkel’s successor will be elected.

“This is a black hour for the CDU,” said the daily Die Welt.

Traffic lights

Merkel collected only 24% of the CDU in the rich land of Baden-Württemberg. votes, show preliminary data. Five years ago, the Chancellor’s party received 27 percent of the land. votes.

Baden-Württemberg stands out among other German states because it has been led by Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann of the Green Party for a decade.

The Greens led by Kretschmann received more than 32 percent. votes is a record victory for this green party.

Kretschmann, 72, now has two options: continue working in coalition with the CDU or form a new alliance with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP).

The decision of the Land Prime Minister is eagerly awaited, as a national government can subsequently be formed on a similar principle.

In recent years, growing concerns about climate change have also increased the popularity of the Greens, and this political force can play a crucial role in the formation of the ruling coalition after the September elections.

In neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate state, popular Prime Minister Malu Dreyer led the SPD to another victory: this political force gathered around 36 percent here. votes.

The CDU in Rhineland-Palatinate received about 26 percent. votes. In 2016, Merkel’s party garnered nearly 32 percent. votes.

Dreyer is expected to maintain a “stoplight” coalition with the Greens and the FDP, named for the colors used in the symbolism of these political forces.

The third wave

Conservatives have voted in Germany in preparation for the third wave of COVID-19. However, despite the increase in coronavirus infection observed in the country, schools and non-essential shops are gradually opening here.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany’s leading infectious disease research body, predicts that the peak in morbidity in December, which was about 30,000 a day, could be exceeded by mid-April. new cases of infection.

On March 22, Merkel and the prime ministers of the 16 Länder will discuss the next steps in the fight against the pandemic.