Merkel's CDU struggles to retain power in North Rhein

BERLIN – CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat (CDU) government is facing a rocky road ahead after the party struggled last night to retain power in Germany’s most populous federal state.

After just five years in power, voters in North-Rhine Westphalia have ousted the CDU-led state government with no clear alternative in view.

One thing was clear: just six months into her second term, Dr Merkel appears to have lost her law-making majority in the upper house, the Bundesrat, ensuring difficult policy-making times ahead.

The vote throws into uncertainty key policy pillars of Dr Merkel’s second term, from tax and healthcare reform to the future of nuclear power in Germany.

Exit polls suggested that, with 34.5 per cent, the SPD won yesterday’s election by a nose ahead of the CDU, on 34.3 per cent. Outgoing CDU governor Jürgen Rüttgers described the result – down nearly 10 points in five years – as a “bitter defeat”.

The SPD are hoping to rule again in North-Rhine Westphalia, as they did for 40 years until 2005, but face a difficult decision before then. Their Green Party coalition partners of choice doubled their vote share to 12 per cent, but an SPD-Green coalition may fall short of a majority in the Düsseldorf Landtag, or state parliament.

That could force the SPD to accept the support of the CDU in a grand coalition to the support of the Left Party, an alliance of reformed east German communists and disillusioned former SPD members.

Exit polls suggested the Left Party had polled 5.4 per cent, enough to give them Landtag seats for the first time.

SPD leader Hannelore Kraft refused to be drawn last night on whether she would do a deal with the Left Party.

“This is a good day for North-Rhine Westphalia, the CDU government is gone,” she said. “And one message is clear from the vote: the SPD is back.” The SPD’s dramatic defeat here five years ago began a chain of events that, ultimately, cost chancellor Gerhard Schröder his job.

Though its support was down two points, SPD leaders said yesterday’s result was an important boost after the worst general election in its history last September.

The only good news for Dr Merkel is that her liberal Free Democrats (FDP) failed to pick up support, depriving them of a mandate to push for wide-reaching tax cuts in Berlin.