Germany: Merkel’s CDU in crisis after setback in regional polls

Local media say Chancellor Angela Merkel’s house ‘on fire’ after worst-ever results in state elections.

The CDU, the party of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, suffered record defeats in two regional votes on Sunday amid anger over a muddled coronavirus response, including a face mask procurement scandal and a sluggish vaccine rollout. Sunday’s rout in the southwestern states of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate raised questions about the CDU’s chances in a September 26 general election, when Germans will choose a successor to Merkel. “It can’t go on like this,” the Der Spiegel weekly said, adding Merkel’s house was “on fire”.