Merkel’s alliance loses German state vote, costing control of upper house, projections show

Merkel’s bloc loses German state vote

BERLIN — Voters ejected Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right alliance from power in Germany’s most populous state on Sunday, projections showed — costing the German leader her majority in the upper house of parliament and curb her government’s power.

The state election in North Rhine-Westphalia — the first electoral test since Merkel’s second term started last October — had loomed over European efforts to tackle the Greek debt crisis.

Merkel initially held out on agreeing to aid for cash-strapped Athens, prompting German opposition parties to accuse her of avoiding an unpopular decision in the election run-up.

Merkel’s Christian Democrats won just over 34 percent of Sunday’s vote, and their coalition partners, the Free Democrats, took 6.5 percent, according to projections for ARD and ZDF television based on exit polls and early counting. That left them well short of a majority in the state legislature in Duesseldorf.

The same coalition leads the federal government as well.

“This is of course a warning shot for the governing parties, and the people should know that it has been heard,” said Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, a Free Democrat. “We must make an effort to win back lost trust with hard and good work.”

“This is a disappointing result in every respect,” said Wolfgang Bosbach, a prominent federal lawmaker for Merkel’s party.

The projections found the opposition Social Democrats winning more than 34 percent, the Greens 12.5 percent and the Left Party up to 6 percent.

Merkel is likely to have a harder time running Germany — Europe’s biggest economy — without a majority in the upper house, which represents Germany’s 16 states and must approve major legislation.

She will have to haggle with the opposition on some projects — and prospects of tax cuts intended to stimulate the economy and significant reform to the health-insurance system, both projects dear to the Free Democrats, will sink.

Merkel’s federal government currently controls 37 of the 69 upper-house votes, including six from North Rhine-Westphalia.

The stock of Merkel’s federal coalition has been sliding following a poor start, constant squabbling over policy and the challenge from the Greek crisis.

Opposition leaders have accused Merkel of holding out on the aid to Athens to avoid annoying supporters before the election — rescuing Greece is unpopular in Germany.

On Friday, however, parliament approved a bill allowing Germany to grant as much as euro22.4 billion ($28.6 billion) in credit over three years as part of a wider rescue plan.

“A stable currency is the be-all and end-all of prosperity and security,” Merkel, who says it was right to hold out for tough Greek austerity measures, said Saturday.

A bigger problem with voters may have been 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 divisions.

Her new coalition has squabbled constantly, notably about the wisdom of making big tax cuts soon.

Without an upper-house majority — a frequent situation and one Merkel experienced in her first time — the chancellor may soon be back to consensus-building. Opposition parties oppose tax cuts.

It wasn’t immediately clear who will run North Rhine-Westphalia in future.

The Social Democrats were hoping to win back a traditional heartland after the 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.

However, they appeared to be just short of a majority for a coalition with the Greens. It was unclear whether the two might team up with the Left Party, a hard-left rival — a combination that hasn’t yet been tried.

A “grand coalition” of the two biggest parties is mathematically possible, but it is unclear who might lead it.