Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
Newser - Current News - Breaking Stories

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Both Parties Claim Victory in Key German Election

Posted Jan 29, 08 2:01 PM CST in World 

(Newser) – Two days after an ugly campaign in the German state of Hesse ended with voting for a new premier, both sides are claiming victory in the bellwether contest. Roland Koch, the hard-right incumbent and the CDU's de facto No. 2, obtained only a 0.1% majority—a dismal performance for a man often mentioned as a future chancellor. His xenophobic campaign backfired badly, writes the Financial Times.

Angela Merkel suppressed her distaste for Koch's arch-conservative rhetoric to campaign for him, but the result may actually help her. One of the chancellor's biggest rivals has been sidelined, and her own centrist positions have been vindicated. The left is celebrating in Hesse but, says the editor of a top German political magazine, "It’s Merkel who will reap the rewards."
Source: Financial Times (UK)

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • German Opposition Leader Quits

    Sep 8, 08 6:18 AM CDT
    German Opposition Leader Quits The leader of Germany's Social Democrats has resigned after the party leaked that it had chosen another leader to face Angela Merkel in next year's general election, reports Der Spiegel. The party's candidate will be Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the current foreign minister in Merkel's grand coalition government. Kurt Beck, who has led the struggling SPD since her 2005 election victory, blamed "systematic misinformation" in the media for his decline in authority. More »

  • Immigrants Fire Back at Xenophobic Campaign*

    Jan 10, 08 11:57 AM CST
    Immigrants Fire Back at Xenophobic Campaign* Germany’s immigrants are fed up with Roland Koch, whose bid for reelection as governor of the state of Hesse is exacerbating racial tensions, Der Spiegel reports. Koch seized upon a December subway beating to blast "criminal young foreigners," and the rhetoric quickly escalated to anti-immigrant rant, portraying them as barely civilized brutes. A coalition of more than 100 immigrant groups has responded with an angry open letter. More »

  • Merkel Trades Compromise For Hard Line

    Jan 8, 08 4:04 PM CST
    Merkel Trades Compromise For Hard Line Ahead of a regional election later this month, Angela Merkel has left behind the conciliatory tone of her first 2 years and come out swinging. The German chancellor gave her strongest backing to the minister-president of Hesse, who is running for reelection on a harsh anti-immigrant platform. In an interview with Der Spiegel, Merkel supported her colleague's proposal to introduce boot camps for "criminal young foreigners." More »

German Chancellor Angela Merkel listens to a parliamentary debate in the Reichstags building in Berlin, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008. The parliament discussed the results of the December 2007 climate conference...   (Associated Press)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds a news conference in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008, focusing on German and foreign policy. (AP Photo/Franka Bruns)   (Associated Press)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and Governor of German state of Hesse, Roland Koch, right, of the Christian Democratic Union CDU, are seen during an election campaign rally for Koch in Frankfurt,...   (Associated Press)
The governor of the German state of Hesse, Roland Koch, addresses the media in front of the headquarter of the German Christian Democratic Party in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Jan. 28, 2008. German politicians...   (Associated Press)
Social Democratic top candidate Andrea Ypsilanti celebrates after the state elections in Hesse in Wiesbaden, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008. Germans voted Sunday in two key state elections in Hesse and...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Related Threads

(1 of 2)

Tags

Germany • Angela Merkel • Hesse • Roland Koch • CDU • SPD


Loading...

Today's Most Popular

[ Stories ]

Threads

Loading...
SPONSORED NEWS ARCHIVE

The Odd Couple.(World Affairs)(Angela Merkel, Frank-Walter Steinmeier) (Newsweek International)

Roundup: German SPD party reshuffles leadership, with eye on election (Xinhua News Agency)

The President's news conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in... (Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents)

Remarks following a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in Toyako.(Week... (Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents)

Spouting from Brussels, again; U-TURN Angela Merkel.(Features) (The Mirror (London, England))

Brown under pressure as merkel ups the ante ; Gordon Brown was speaking to... (Western Daily Press (Bristol UK))

Merkels weapons of mass distraction; REVEALING: Ms Smith in the Commons DONT... (The Mail on Sunday (London, England))

Is that what you call a herr kiss, Enda? The nose vote: Enda Kenny leans in... (The Daily Mail (London, England))

The carbon criminals; G8 on the move: Left to right: French, U.S. and Russian... (The Daily Mail (London, England))

THIS COULD DAMAGE THE WHOLE OF EUROPE; Making her point: Angela Merkel vowed... (The Daily Mail (London, England))


Other World Stories