Greens the biggest winners as Merkel humiliated in Bavaria

October 20, 2018
Issue 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to restore confidence in the government after crashing to a humiliating defeat in the October 14 Bavarian state elections, Morning Star Online reported.

The Christian Social Union (CSU) — sister party to Merkel’s Christian Democrats — polled 37%, its worst vote for more than six decades. It lost its majority in Germany’s southern state in a major defeat for the governing parties.

Her coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party, lost its position as the state’s second-largest party as its vote halved to just 9.7%, finishing fifth.

The anti-immigration far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) made gains winning 10.2% of the vote. However, it was the pro-immigration Green Party that performed better with its vote almost doubling to 17.4%.

Led by the controversial Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, the CSU introduced a law in the state requiring classrooms and public buildings to hang the crucifix and ban the full-face Islamic veils.

But polls ahead of the vote showed Bavarians rejected the right-wing measures introduced by the CSU, with some suggesting they were merely repeating the arguments of AfD.

Greens co-leader Annalena Baerbock said: “Today Bavaria voted to uphold human rights and humanity.”

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