Related News
Merkel risks reverse in German state election
Source: Agencies |
May 9, 2010, Sunday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
GERMANY'S most populous state votes today in the first electoral test for Chancellor Angela Merkel's new government, which hopes to avoid a reverse that could make running Europe's biggest economy harder.
The stock of Merkel's center-right coalition has been sliding following a poor start, constant squabbling over policy and the challenge from the Greek debt crisis.
Polls indicate that the center-right coalition running North Rhine-Westphalia - a region including Cologne, Duesseldorf and the industrial Ruhr area where more than 13 million people are eligible to vote - will struggle to win re-election.
If it fails, Merkel's federal government, made up of the same parties, will lose its majority in parliament's upper house, which represents Germany's 16 states and must approve major legislation.
That would force Merkel to haggle with the opposition to push through much of her policy agenda, likely complicating prospects of pushing through tax relief in a bid to rev up the economy.
"This state election is on a knife edge," state governor Juergen Ruettgers, a deputy leader of Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats, acknowledged this week.
Merkel initially won plaudits for her tough stance on granting aid to Athens. Rescuing Greece is unpopular in Germany; opposition leaders accused Merkel of trying to sit out the Greece crisis before the election to avoid annoying supporters.
On Friday, however, parliament approved a bill allowing Germany to grant as much as €22.4 billion (US$28.6 billion) in credit over three years as part of a wider rescue plan.
A bigger problem with voters may be the government's stumbling start at home. Freed last year from a "grand coalition" with center-left rivals in which she shone as a consensus-builder, Merkel then got bogged down in internal squabbling.
Her party and its new coalition partners, the pro-business Free Democrats, squabbled about the wisdom of making big tax cuts soon - appearing to avoid difficult decisions as the election loomed. The Free Democrats declined in polls as the appeal of their tax-cutting call faded.
Merkel may soon be back to consensus-building without an upper-house majority - a frequent situation in Germany, and one she experienced in her first term. Opposition parties oppose tax cuts.
Her coalition currently controls 37 of the 69 votes in the upper house, including six from North Rhine-Westphalia.
Sunday's ballot offers the opposition Social Democrats a chance to win back a traditional heartland after a heavy national election defeat in September.
They led North Rhine-Westphalia for nearly four decades until losing it in 2005 amid discontent over then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's efforts to trim the welfare state.
Several permutations may be possible if the center-right government doesn't win a majority.
Governor Ruettgers might be able to form a different coalition; Social Democratic challenger Hannelore Kraft hope to govern with the Greens. A hard-left rival, the Left Party, may complicate those hopes.
The stock of Merkel's center-right coalition has been sliding following a poor start, constant squabbling over policy and the challenge from the Greek debt crisis.
Polls indicate that the center-right coalition running North Rhine-Westphalia - a region including Cologne, Duesseldorf and the industrial Ruhr area where more than 13 million people are eligible to vote - will struggle to win re-election.
If it fails, Merkel's federal government, made up of the same parties, will lose its majority in parliament's upper house, which represents Germany's 16 states and must approve major legislation.
That would force Merkel to haggle with the opposition to push through much of her policy agenda, likely complicating prospects of pushing through tax relief in a bid to rev up the economy.
"This state election is on a knife edge," state governor Juergen Ruettgers, a deputy leader of Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats, acknowledged this week.
Merkel initially won plaudits for her tough stance on granting aid to Athens. Rescuing Greece is unpopular in Germany; opposition leaders accused Merkel of trying to sit out the Greece crisis before the election to avoid annoying supporters.
On Friday, however, parliament approved a bill allowing Germany to grant as much as €22.4 billion (US$28.6 billion) in credit over three years as part of a wider rescue plan.
A bigger problem with voters may be the government's stumbling start at home. Freed last year from a "grand coalition" with center-left rivals in which she shone as a consensus-builder, Merkel then got bogged down in internal squabbling.
Her party and its new coalition partners, the pro-business Free Democrats, squabbled about the wisdom of making big tax cuts soon - appearing to avoid difficult decisions as the election loomed. The Free Democrats declined in polls as the appeal of their tax-cutting call faded.
Merkel may soon be back to consensus-building without an upper-house majority - a frequent situation in Germany, and one she experienced in her first term. Opposition parties oppose tax cuts.
Her coalition currently controls 37 of the 69 votes in the upper house, including six from North Rhine-Westphalia.
Sunday's ballot offers the opposition Social Democrats a chance to win back a traditional heartland after a heavy national election defeat in September.
They led North Rhine-Westphalia for nearly four decades until losing it in 2005 amid discontent over then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's efforts to trim the welfare state.
Several permutations may be possible if the center-right government doesn't win a majority.
Governor Ruettgers might be able to form a different coalition; Social Democratic challenger Hannelore Kraft hope to govern with the Greens. A hard-left rival, the Left Party, may complicate those hopes.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
