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The ruling parties in Germany were trying Monday to overcome the consequences of a catastrophic regional election in Bavaria, despite calls for Angela Merkel's government members to resign in the face of the debacle.
Voters presented the Christian Social Party (CSU) to Merkel's Bavarian party in Bavaria, its worst result since 1954 in the prosperous southern state of the country, where it is accustomed to dominant majorities.
The Social Democrats (SPD), the junior party of the national coalition, were also moved after a defeat in which their vote was halved, falling for the first time in single digits. The party is ranked fifth with 9.5%, far behind the Greens and below the far right AfD.
The humiliating result for Angela Merkel's two partners is a serious blow to her fragile coalition. However, Monday morning in the morning, no head had been launched, despite CSU calls for the resignation of party leader Horst Seehofer.
"I will not discuss my position today," said Seehofer after a meeting of CSU leaders who unanimously supported Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder.
Seehofer was strongly blamed in the party for the result, which was seen as a punishment for sowing division in the coalition over the politics of migration and the rejection of moderate voters.
"A debate on leadership can not be avoided," Peter Ramsauer, former vice-president of CSU, told German press on Monday. CSU had received a "disastrous result" which "should not be put into perspective".
"We need a different style, a language that connects and good governance," said Volker Ullrich, member of the CSU parliament, to Der Spiegel. "The right support attempt [has] failed."
Calls for resignation have also been launched in Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
"This probably can not work without consequences for the staff," said Daniel Günther, CDU Prime Minister in Schleswig-Holstein, Welt newspaper. "However, I do not really think about empowering individuals. All the management of the CSU has made mistakes in recent years … no one can be excluded. "
Speaking after exit polls late on Sunday, Söder called the CSU day a "tough day", but said his party had a clear mandate to form a government. It is now expected that it will quickly form a coalition to govern the state with free center-right voters – excluding the Greens despite their record.
All eyes will be turned to another regional vote in Hesse at the end of the month, where CDU and SPD languish in the polls. The coalition partners hope to be able to postpone the final calculation of the Bavarian disaster until then, leaving them a little less than a fortnight to right their fate.
