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Merkel's Party Wins Big in German Election

Left decimated as chancellor gets a boost ahead of national vote

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 19, 2009 6:01 AM CST
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(Newser) – The right-wing party of Angela Merkel came out on top in a closely watched German state election last night, giving the chancellor a major boost ahead of a federal election later this year. In Hesse, home to the financial powerhouse Frankfurt, right-wing premier Roland Koch won a new mandate, while the left-leaning Social Democratic Party went down to its worst electoral result there since 1950.

As the Financial Times reports, the big winner of last night's vote was the small, free-market Free Democratic Party, which polled twice its previous score. Merkel currently leads an awkward "grand coalition" of right and left after her wafer-thin victory in 2005, but has said she hopes to govern with the Free Democrats in a new government after the federal election in September.

Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party came in first in a state election in Hesse, a good sign for the chancellor ahead of a federal poll.
Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party came in first in a state election in Hesse, a good sign for the chancellor ahead of a federal poll.   (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The governor of the German state of Hesse, Roland Koch, was re-elected yesterday, while his left-wing opponent suffered a stinging rebuke at the polls.
The governor of the German state of Hesse, Roland Koch, was re-elected yesterday, while his left-wing opponent suffered a stinging rebuke at the polls.   (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a government policy statement about the new economic stimulus during an extraordinary session of the German parliament in Berlin on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a government policy statement about the new economic stimulus during an extraordinary session of the German parliament in Berlin on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009.   (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for her government declaration in the Reichstag in Berlin, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. Merkel talked about the government's new economic stimulus plan.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for her government declaration in the Reichstag in Berlin, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. Merkel talked about the government's new economic stimulus plan.   (AP Photo/Franka Bruns)
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More polls loom in Germany's 'super-election' year
Independent (UK)

What the Hesse election means, and why it matters
Der Spiegel

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

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