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28 March 2024

Merkel party loses support: exit polls

Published
By AFP

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives suffered an embarrassing loss of support in elections in her home state Sunday, exit polls suggested, but they could still cling on to a share of power.

According to exit polls released by TV channel ARD, Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) mustered 24.0 percent of the vote in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a decline on the 28.8 percent they won in 2006.

As expected, the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) was the strongest party, with 37 percent of the vote, a significant gain on their 2006 performance of 30.2 percent.

The third-strongest party was the far-left Linke, with 17 percent.

The resurgent Greens scored 8.5 percent, ensuring their representation in the regional parliament for the first time. They had previously failed to clear the five-percent hurdle required to enter the parliament.

Negotiations will now take place over possible coalition arrangements. Many analysts expect a continuation of the "grand coalition" of CDU and SPD that has governed the state since 2006.

However, a coalition of the SPD and the Linke, or even a three-way tie-up with the newly elected Greens, is also possible. The SPD has not declared which party it would rather form a coalition with.