Merkel disappoints in Lower Saxony:
CDU collapses, center-left majority

BERLIN – Angela Merkel disappoints in Lower Saxony. A decisive fall of the CDU is outlined, despite the surprising success of its so far weak liberal allies (FDP, government partner in Hannover as well as nationally). Between the two blocs, Merkel’s center-right and the democratic left ie Spd and Verdi, was a heads up. After hours of suspense, the results, however, reward the opposition: the Merkel CD obtains 54 seats, the liberal allies 14, for a total of 68. the SPD has 49, the green 20: and together they can govern, albeit with a small majority of only one seat.

In Hanover, today, as in the federal elections of September 22nd in Berlin, the “most powerful woman in the world” suffers. In the fall, to have a third term as chancellor as he dreams, he could probably be forced to break the pact with the FDP and to launch or a big Coalition with the Social Democrats – he already did it successfully from 2005 to 2009 – or to launch the unpublished experiment of a coalition between Christian Democrats and the Greens.

The first European power comes out of Sunday’s test without certainties about its future governability. And therefore, also without clear indications on the future of its European, economic and foreign policy. This uncertainty reverberates throughout the Old Continent and the entire global world.

The Christian Democrats (CDU) compared to previous elections in the large industrial state, home to Volkswagen’s parent company in Wolfsburg, among other things, collapsed from 42.5 percent to 36. The Social Democrats rose from 30.3 to 32.6 instead. The CDU is saved by its liberal allies, who are reported to have passed away or almost until the eve, but have grown from 8.2 to 9.9 per cent. The Greens fly, increasing consensus from 8 to 13.7 percent. They remain outside the Landtag, the Parliament of the State (one of the largest among the 16 in the Federal Republic), the Linke, that is the radical left, and the pirates.

The signal to the chancellor is clear: in the storm of the European and international crisis, Angela Merkel will have to be ready for any agreement, even with social-democratic or environmental adversaries, if she wants a third term as head of the executive to go down in history as Adenauer or Kohl , which you aspire to. At the moment, the center-right alone has no majority in the first European and fourth world power.

(January 20, 2013)