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BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition is facing a second test in as many weeks on Sunday as voters go to the polls in Hesse (West) for regional elections that could torpedo the national government.
PHOTO FILE: Hessen Prime Minister Volker Bouffier and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend the last campaign rally before the next state election in Fulda, Germany on 25 October 2018. REUTERS / Ralph Orlowski
The election of Hesse took on a new dimension after the regional vote of 14 October which gave the worst result since 1950 for Merkel's Bavarian allies and the humiliation of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), his other partner in power.
If Volker Bouffier, Merkel's conservative ally in Hesse, loses her post as Prime Minister, the Chancellor's enemies will embolden before the congress of her Christian Democratic Party (CDU) in early December and may try to hasten her death.
The other risk for Merkel is that her SPD coalition partners are in third place in Hesse, which is home to the Frankfurt financial center. Such a result would increase pressure from the SPD base for the party to withdraw from the coalition with Merkel in Berlin.
"Will Hesse blow GroKo today?" Asked the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, using Merkel's popular "grand coalition" abbreviation.
A survey by pollster Emnid for the newspaper showed national support for the conservative Merkel alliance down 24%, with a SPD of 15%, down sharply from 32.9% and 20%, 5% won in national elections last year. .
Voters said they were tired of infighting in the grand coalition.
An increasing number of SPD members feel that their party is tarnished by its alliance with Merkel and that it would be better to rebuild in the opposition – a scenario to which the SPD leader has resisted.
"It is not recommended that the SPD act hastily or recklessly," said Nahles before the vote.
Voting in Hesse started at 8:00 am (07:00 GMT) and polling stations are open until 18:00. (17:00 GMT), when the exit polls give a first indication of the result.
GREENS GAIN
CDU Secretary General Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who was chosen to succeed Merkel, warned the SPD that the withdrawal of the ruling coalition after the vote in Hesse would trigger federal elections.
The SPD would suffer tremendously from a national vote while the Greens Alternative and the far right for Germany (AfD) would win. The Emnid poll brought support to the Greens at 20% and the AfD at 16% nationally, up 1 point per week.
In Hessen, support for the CDU is 28%, revealed Thursday a survey by the sounder Forschungsgruppe Wahlen for the broadcaster ZDF. But the CDU and the Greens ecologist may not have the support needed to renew their ruling alliance in the state.
The SPD and the Greens were tied with 20%, the survey revealed, with the AfD on 12 points, and the Free Democratic Free Business Party (FDP) and the far left Linke with 8 points.
The Greens could be part of a number of potential coalitions in Hesse if themselves and the CDU did not have enough support to stay in power.
The CDU and the Greens could team up with the FDP; the Greens, the SPD and the FDP could, in theory, join forces – although the FDP is not enthusiastic; or the Greens and the SPD could work with Linke, the far left.
Tarek Al-Wazir, leader of the semi-Yemeni Greens in Hesse, does not engage in any coalition before the vote.
Report by Paul Carrel; Edited by Hugh Lawson and Elaine Hardcastle
