Merkel suffers another blow as coalition talks begin

Another poor performance in elections weakened German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hand further as she begins difficult coalition talks on Monday.

Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Sunday took 33.4 to 34.3 percent of votes in the western state of Lower Saxony, the home of Volkswagen, according to preliminary results.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) won the regional poll, taking at least 37 percent of votes.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured 6.2 percent of votes, breaking the threshold of a minimum of five percent votes to reach parliament. The result means that the right-wing populist party will be a part of their 14th regional parliament.

The AfD got its first seats in the federal parliament after securing more than 10 percent of votes in the September national elections. Its win was viewed as an embarrassment to the mainstream political parties in Germany.

The victory comes as a relief to the SPD, which oversaw three regional election losses this year and pledged to go into the opposition after last month's humiliating defeat at the national level. /Reuters Photo

The Greens secured around 8.5 percent of votes, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) received about seven percent.

Coalition talks

The CDU together with its Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Greens and the FDP on Monday are set to hold discussions on a coalition in Berlin. The election result in the regional poll is being seen as a blow to Merkel that could make the talks even more difficult.

The regional election did nothing to boost Merkel and sent a "bad starting signal" for the talks, said news weekly Der Spiegel.

Despite the bad result, the defeat was not a massive blow, it said, apparently referring to CDU’s better performance in state elections earlier this year.

Green politician Jurgen Trittin echoed the sentiment, telling the German public broadcaster ARD that the CDU's poor performance in Lower Saxony would make Merkel’s talks with the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) more difficult.

The general secretary of CDU, Peter Tauber, downplayed the significance of the regional poll but said the results were a blow to the parties holding discussions for a coalition.

"It remains a regional election and we have a clear task in Berlin to build a stable government," he said.

The three-way alliance is being dubbed a "Jamaica Coalition" because the parties' colors correspond to the Caribbean country's national flag.

Germany has never tried this type of coalition at the federal level. The talks are expected to be centered on the issue of the migration crisis as the rise of the far-right populists is being blamed on Merkel's open door policy that saw more than one million asylum seekers entering the country since 2015.

Social Democratic Party (SPD) top candidate Stephan Weil celebrates with supporters after the Lower Saxony state election in Hanover, Germany October 15, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The CSU has echoed a firm stance on immigration in a bid to win back voters who have drifted to the AfD.

Snap vote

Lower Saxony held an early election after the ruling coalition of the SPD and the Greens lost its slim majority and collapsed because a member of parliament for the Green Party, Elke Twesten, defected to the CDU in August.

The election was originally scheduled for January 2018. Merkel made several appearances in the short election campaign.

It is not yet clear whether the SPD and the Greens received enough seats to keep the coalition in Lower Saxony intact.

(CGTN)