Germany kicks off key election year with local polls with national stakes
Campaign posters of the main candidates for the head of Baden Wuerttemberg, the green Winfried Kretschmann and the Christian Democrat Susanne Eisenmann, in Stuttgart, March 9, 2021. AFP - THOMAS KIENZLE
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4 min
Two regional elections in Germany mark this Sunday March 14 the start of a long electoral marathon that will last until September 26, when a new Parliament is elected in Berlin and Angela Merkel leaves power after 16 years.
These elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate could be difficult for the Chancellor's Christian Democratic Party.
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With our correspondent in Berlin,
Pascal Thibaut
Angela
Merkel leaves power in the fall of 2021
, but the Christian Democrats (CDU) have not yet
nominated their candidate
for the chancellery race.
The
polls are down for the CDU
, the frustrations of voters facing
the government's health policy
are increasing and the recent scandals surrounding MPs Christian Democrats who cashed commissions when selling masks anti-Covid-19 do not help not things.
In Baden-Württemberg, the CDU, a minority partner in a popular Green-led coalition, is set to suffer a historic defeat.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, the Christian Democrats in the opposition have little hope of winning the region run by the Social Democrats associated with the Greens and the Liberals.
But on arrival this Sunday evening, two alliances without the CDU could be either confirmed or possible: for the Christian Democrats it would be an additional warning shot.
A Green-Christian-Democrat coalition?
The coalition between Greens and Christian Democrats in Baden-Württemberg worked, as in Hesse.
There is a lot of talk about such an alliance at the federal level to govern Germany in the fall.
This while environmentalists have the wind in their sails in the polls.
In Baden-Württemberg, a unique case, its leader for 10 years, Winfried Kretschmann, enjoys a very high popularity which should allow his party to achieve a new record this Sunday, March 14.
The success of this environmentalist is extraordinary, according to political scientist Frank Baasner, who analyzes the possible option of a coalition with the Christian Democrats in the fall, at the federal level.
Winfried Krestchmann illustrates a possible agreement with the CDU but "is not representative at the federal level", according to political scientist Frank Baasner
Pascal Thibaut
► To read also: What will remain of Angela Merkel in 2021, after 16 years at the head of Germany?
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