CDU wins Hesse regional poll despite large drop in support

Despite a large drop in support, the CDU has won the Hesse state regional poll, giving the chancellor some welcome breathing room. But the weakness of the political center in Germany remains glaringly obvious.

There were a couple of points of solace for Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) as the first official projections were announced for Sunday’s regional election.

The CDU’s tally of roughly 28 percent may have been down some ten points compared with the last Hesse vote in 2013. But it was slightly better than pre-election polls had predicted and gives incumbent state premier and Merkel ally Volker Bouffier a mandate to form the next government.

The Social Democrats (SPD) suffered a similar drop, claiming slightly less than 20 percent of the vote – its worst result in Hesse since 1946. That won’t have anyone in red dancing for joy, but it’s probably a respectable enough performance to keep the SPD’s left wing from demanding that the party quit its “grand coalition” with conservatives at the national level. That, too, should be welcome news with Merkel.

Germany (Hesse regional election), Infratest dimap exit poll:

CDU-EPP: 28% (-10.5)

GRÜNE-G/EFA: 19.5% (+8.5)

SPD-S&D: 20% (-11.5)

AfD-EFDD: 12% (+8)

FDP-ALDE: 7.5% (+2.5)

LINKE-LEFT: 6.5% (+1.5)

DW