Germany's CDU bemoans collapse in former Communist East
Reuters
Published Sep 27, 2021 09:45AM ET
Updated Sep 27, 2021 09:58AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU) expressed concern on Monday at the scale of the party's defeat in the former Communist East in Sunday's federal election that marks the end of the rule of Angela Merkel, who grew up in the region.
The CDU had been the dominant political force in the former east for three decades since the party's long-serving leader Helmut Kohl championed reunification in 1990 and promised voters in the deprived region "flourishing landscapes".
The party's popularity in the east continued after Merkel took over as chancellor in 2005, but had been waning since she opened the door to more than a million refugees in 2015, fueling the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Support for the CDU and its leader Armin Laschet, premier of the western region of North Rhine-Westphalia, collapsed further in Sunday's election, with the party falling behind the Social Democrats in most eastern states.
The AfD is now the biggest party in the eastern regions of Saxony and Thueringen and the second-biggest in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
"The losses have been particulaly drastic in the east," Laschet told a news conference on Monday.
Paul Ziemiak, the party's general secretary, was even more candid: "If I think about the east, I am floored by it."
Nationwide, the Social Democrats (SPD) narrowly won Sunday's election and its candidate for chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said on Monday he hoped to build a three-way coalition with the Greens and liberal Free Democrats by Christmas to replace the outgoing conservative-led government of Merkel.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.