Merkel’s CDU suffers defeat in Berlin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party was reeling on Monday after another stinging poll loss, as an upstart populist party poached votes in a Berlin State election by railing against her liberal refugee policy.

It was the fifth regional poll in a row showing losses for the Christian Democrats (CDU).

Analysts said the drubbing would force Ms. Merkel, widely seen as Europe’s most influential leader, to focus on German affairs at a time when the EU is facing sluggish economic growth, growing divisions over its migration policy and Britain’s impending exit.

Fracturing of electorate

The Berlin vote continued a trend of a fracturing of the electorate and surging support for fringe parties, with both the far Left and the Right wing the winners of the day.

It also mirrored the march of anti-migrant parties in France, Austria and the Netherlands and Republican maverick Donald Trump in the United States.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) harnessed a wave of anger over the refugee influx to claim around 14 per cent of the vote in a city that has long prided itself on its diversity and international appeal.

The strong AfD result, thanks to support especially in the vast tower block districts in Berlin’s former communist east, meant it has now won opposition seats in 10 of Germany’s 16 States.

Its string of victories indicates that for the first time since World War II, a party to the right of the CDU has established a foothold in German politics.

Berlin’s SPD Mayor Michael Mueller had dramatically warned before the polls that a strong AfD result would be “seen throughout the world as a sign of the resurgence of the right and of Nazis in Germany”.

Ms. Merkel’s CDU won just 17.6 per cent — its worst post-war result in the city, before or after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall —likely spelling the end of its term as junior coalition partner to the Social Democrats (SPD), who won just under 22 per cent.

The German leader was expected to acknowledge the defeat at a news conference later on Monday but also emphasise the specific, local aspects of the race.

”The CDU lost, but this time it is not primarily a defeat for the Chancellor,” news website Spiegel Online wrote. — AFP