Merkel's days numbered after Lower Saxony vote?
In elections to the state parliament in Lower Saxony, the CDU has scored its worst result in almost 60 years. Three weeks after Germany's federal elections commentators discuss what this means for Chancellor Merkel.
CDU's shilly-shallying catches up with it
The CDU's lack of orientation in dealing with the right-wing populists robbed it of its victory in Lower Saxony, Die Welt argues:
“The CDU is the loser of the evening. Despite the VW scandal, Schröder's embarrassing behaviour on Russia and the tussling among the Greens, the Union failed to mobilise the conservative mileus - of which there are many in Lower Saxony - to the point of bringing about a change of government. Things looked very different in August, which makes one wonder just what went wrong. The CDU/CSU's squabbling on the federal level (and in Bavaria) as well as its programmatic and intellectual shoulder shrugging at the triumph of the rightg-wing populists certainly didn't help things either.”
Blow just misses chancellor
Thanks to lucky timing the CDU's defeat in Hanover hasn't dealt a major blow to Merkel's authority, the Tages-Anzeiger writes:
“Luckily for her, soon no one will be talking about Lower Saxony. Negotiations over a new government in Berlin are due to begin this week. Forming a colourful, centrist alliance going by the name 'Jamaica' with the CDU, CSU, FDP and the Greens willl be her coalition masterpiece. To pull it off she'll have to bring these very different parties together in the negotiations while making them all feel like winners in the end. That will be extremely difficult, but it's the price she'll have to pay if she wants to remain chancellor a little longer.”