German voters deal Merkel state election setback

Ένα ανίερο, μακρύ παιχνίδι.
Matthias Inverardi
DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) – Germans punished Chancellor Angela Merkel’s
center-right coalition in a state election on Sunday, depriving her of a
majority in parliament’s upper house after she angered many by agreeing to
aid Greece.
The loss in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is a blow to Merkel
little more than six months into her second term in office and means she
will have to rely on opposition parties to deliver her policy agenda, which
includes tax cuts.
A result-based projection by ZDF television put Merkel’s Christian Democrats
(CDU) on 34.3 percent and their Free Democrat (FDP) allies on 6.6 percent,
short of a majority and leaving the make-up of NRW’s next government
unclear.
The Social Democrats (SPD), Germany’s main opposition party, polled 34.5
percent of the vote — a whisker ahead of the CDU, the projection showed.
Final results are due during the night.
“From an investor’s perspective, this is another warning signal to foreign
capital that not all is well in Europe,” said Andrew Bosomworth, a senior
portfolio manager at bond giant PIMCO Europe.
“Strong leadership is needed at a time of crisis and what we’re likely to
see here is a dilution of leadership. This is not something that will
increase faith in the euro,” he added.
The election was widely regarded as a referendum on Merkel’s government and
came just two days after her coalition voted in parliament to release
billions of euros in aid to debt-stricken Greece — a move deeply unpopular
with the public.
The outcome leaves Merkel’s government weakened at a time when investors are
also concerned about political leadership in Britain — one of Europe’s
leading economies after Germany — following an indecisive parliamentary
election.
“This is a bitter defeat for the CDU in the state and federally,” said Gerd
Langguth, political scientist at Bonn University and Merkel biographer

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