On Sunday in Germany there was a vote in the two states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The candidates of the CDU, Angela Merkel’s conservative party, in government, came second in both states: in Baden-Württemberg behind the Greens and in Rhineland-Palatinate behind the Social Democratic Party. It is still unclear which coalitions will form in the two local governments. They were important elections, in two states that have a total of more than 10 million inhabitants (7.7 in Baden-Württemberg and 3.1 in Rhineland-Palatinate).
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The CDU, which has been in the government of Germany for nearly 16 years, is living a moment of crisis due to some recent scandals that have affected several of its members, and to the many criticisms received for the management of the pandemic. These elections were the first test that could certify the party’s decline in popularity. It was also the first elections after Armin Laschet replaced Angela Merkel at the top of the party, who announced that she will withdraw from politics at the end of her term as chancellor. There will be national parliamentary elections in September, and Laschet is not certain that he will be chosen as the candidate for chancellor.
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