Germany’s Christian Democrats suffered embarrassing defeats in two key regional votes on Sunday, in a setback for the party which faces federal elections in September after which a successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel will be chosen.
Anger over a face mask procurement scandal in the CDU is compounding frustration among Germans with Merkel’s conservative-led coalition over a sluggish coronavirus vaccine rollout caused by supply shortages and excessive bureaucracy.
In the southwestern automotive hub of Baden-Wuerttemberg, the Greens won 31.5% of the vote and the CDU 23%, down from the 27% the conservatives polled at the last state election in 2016, an exit poll for broadcaster ZDF showed.
In neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate, the left-leaning Social Democrats (SPD) came first again with 33.5% of the vote ahead of the CDU, which led there in opinion polls until last month but secured only 25.5% support in Sunday’s election.
Along with fears of a potential third coronavirus wave, CDU officials worry the party’s reputation took a hit in the last two weeks when several conservative lawmakers quit over allegations they received payments for arranging procurement deals.
The CDU has seen its national popularity wane from 40% last June, when Germany was widely praised for its response to the coronavirus pandemic, to around 33% this month.
Both regional election results open the way for potential regional alliances of the Greens, SPD and liberal Free Democrats, which already governed in Rhineland-Palatinate before yesterday’s election.
The CDU leaders fear the same constellation of parties could gain enough support to leave their party in opposition at national level at September’s federal vote.
The results are also a blow to CDU party chairman Armin Laschet, who took pole position in the race to succeed Merkel by winning the CDU leadership two months ago.
After 16 years in power, Merkel is not seeking re-election in September, leaving the CDU without the ‘Merkel bonus’ that helped her conservative bloc win four consecutive national elections.
The loss in Baden-Wuerttemberg, where the CDU has been junior coalition partner to the Greens for the last five years, could help Laschet’s Bavarian rival Markus Soeder in their contest to be the conservative chancellor candidate.
Soeder and Laschet want to settle the candidacy matter by May 23. No German chancellor has ever come from the CSU.