Germany’s Christian Democrats slumped to record defeats in two regional votes on Sunday after a muddled coronavirus response, dealing a setback to the party which must contest federal elections in September without Chancellor Angela Merkel. 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.
Read more on CDE News
