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Berlin Elections Highlight Discontent With Merkel on Refugees Merkel Accepts Responsibility for Berlin Election Results
(about 1 hour later)
BERLIN — Voters in Berlin, reflecting a year of mounting discontent with Chancellor Angela Merkel and her refugee policy, have ejected her party from the city’s government and shifted support to several other groups, including the nationalist party Alternative for Germany. BERLIN — A reflective, slightly emotional Angela Merkel acknowledged on Monday that her decision to allow hundreds of thousands of migrants into the country last year had alienated many voters, leading to “very bitter” losses for her party in recent state elections. But she urged Germans to follow her conviction that the country will benefit from the refugees in the long run.
Germany is traditionally a conservative country, but political change has been swift since Ms. Merkel allowed more than a million refugees to enter the country. The arrival of the migrants was only slowed this spring when the European Union struck an agreement with Turkey, and Balkan states began closing their borders. In a speech that was at times personal, Ms. Merkel, the German chancellor, took responsibility for the record-low showing in balloting in Berlin over the weekend for her center-right party, the Christian Democratic Union. She also accepted a role in the party’s humiliating third-place finish two weeks ago, behind the Social Democratic Party and a nationalist party, Alternative for Germany, in her home state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. She pledged to work to regain voters’ trust.
Voters’ shift away from the mainstream — Ms. Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union and its center-left partner in national government, the Social Democratic Party — has roiled politics across Germany, making Ms. Merkel’s re-election next year look increasingly uncertain. “If I could, I would turn back time by many, many years to better prepare myself and the whole German government for the situation that reached us unprepared in late summer 2015,” Ms. Merkel said after meeting with party leaders. “Nobody, including myself, wants a repeat of this situation.”
There was a time when a loss at the state level on the scale of Berlin’s vote on Sunday would have been written off by Germany’s traditional parties as the effect of local politics. But the result in the capital — with the Christian Democrats making their worst showing since the end of World War II and even the winning party, the Social Democrats, attracting only 21.6 percent — means that the prospect of a fundamental shift can no longer be dismissed. Ms. Merkel’s party took just 17.6 percent. Germany is traditionally a conservative country, but political change has been swift since Ms. Merkel allowed more than a million refugees to enter the country last year. The arrival of the migrants was only slowed this spring when the European Union struck an agreement with Turkey, and Balkan states began closing their borders.
The splintering of support has fueled the rise of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany, the first party further to the right on the political spectrum than Ms. Merkel’s conservatives to earn widespread popular backing. The growth of Alternative for Germany appears certain to be reflected at the national level in next year’s elections. The chancellor defended her decision as “absolutely right,” but she acknowledged that “ultimately, it led to a time when we did not have enough control over the situation.” She pointed to legislation and efforts since then aimed at helping to regain control and integrate the new arrivals.
Ms. Merkel huddled early on Monday with party leaders to discuss the implications of the Berlin vote. Her party is now in just six of 16 state governments, two of those as the junior partner. After attending a summit meeting in China two weeks ago when her party suffered a humiliating third-place finish in state elections, Ms. Merkel decided to skip the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week. Voters’ shift away from the mainstream — Ms. Merkel’s Christian Democrats and their center-left partner in national government, the Social Democratics — has roiled politics across Germany, making Ms. Merkel’s re-election next year look increasingly uncertain.
The big question is whether Ms. Merkel will run for a fourth term in office in next year’s general election. All five of her deputies in the party have expressed support for her. Wolfgang Schäuble, her finance minister and the only member of her cabinet who would be in a realistic position to topple her, last week praised the chancellor’s handling of the refugee crisis in an interview with the public broadcaster ZDF. There was a time when a loss at the state level on the scale of Berlin’s vote on Sunday would have been written off by Germany’s traditional parties as the effect of local politics. But the result in the capital — with the Christian Democrats achieving their worst results there since the end of World War II and even the winning party, the Social Democrats, attracting only 21.6 percent — means that the prospect of a fundamental shift can no longer be dismissed. Ms. Merkel’s party took just 17.6 percent.
The splintering of support has fueled the rise of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany, the first party further to the right on the political spectrum than Ms. Merkel’s conservatives to earn widespread backing. The growth of Alternative for Germany appears certain to be reflected at the national level in next year’s elections.
Ms. Merkel huddled early on Monday with party leaders to discuss the implications of the Berlin vote. Her party is now in just six of 16 state governments, two of those as the junior partner. After attending a summit meeting in China two weeks ago when her party suffered its third-place finish in elections in her home state, Ms. Merkel decided to skip the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.
Ms. Merkel declined on Monday to say whether she would pursue a fourth term in next year’s general election, saying that it was not the right time to discuss the issue. All five of her deputies in the party have expressed support for her. Wolfgang Schäuble, her finance minister and the only member of her cabinet who would be in a realistic position to topple her, last week praised the chancellor’s handling of the refugee crisis in an interview with the public broadcaster ZDF.
Thomas Strobl, the leader of the Christian Democrats in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, a conservative stronghold where the party governs as the junior member of a coalition led by the Greens, expressed his conviction that Ms. Merkel would run in 2017. He defined Ms. Merkel as a “strong and internationally well-respected chancellor.”Thomas Strobl, the leader of the Christian Democrats in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, a conservative stronghold where the party governs as the junior member of a coalition led by the Greens, expressed his conviction that Ms. Merkel would run in 2017. He defined Ms. Merkel as a “strong and internationally well-respected chancellor.”
Berlin, however, was the fourth consecutive state election this year in which uncertainty surrounding the chancellor’s decision to allow so many undocumented migrants into the country has resonated.Berlin, however, was the fourth consecutive state election this year in which uncertainty surrounding the chancellor’s decision to allow so many undocumented migrants into the country has resonated.
Voters in the capital shifted their support to smaller parties, with the Left party winning 15.6 percent and the Greens taking 15.2 percent. Alternative for Germany was close behind, with 14.2 percent.Voters in the capital shifted their support to smaller parties, with the Left party winning 15.6 percent and the Greens taking 15.2 percent. Alternative for Germany was close behind, with 14.2 percent.
Many former supporters of the chancellor’s conservatives appeared to have shifted to the liberal Free Democratic Party. Voters returned the Free Democrats to the state legislature with 6.7 percent of the vote after the party failed in 2011 to reach the threshold of 5 percent needed to gain representation.Many former supporters of the chancellor’s conservatives appeared to have shifted to the liberal Free Democratic Party. Voters returned the Free Democrats to the state legislature with 6.7 percent of the vote after the party failed in 2011 to reach the threshold of 5 percent needed to gain representation.
The biggest party in Berlin, the Social Democrats, will still need the support of two other groups to form a government, with the Left and the Greens appearing to be the most likely partners.The biggest party in Berlin, the Social Democrats, will still need the support of two other groups to form a government, with the Left and the Greens appearing to be the most likely partners.
The strongest support for Alternative for Germany in Berlin was in the eastern fringes of the city, reflecting widespread discontent in the former East Germany, where the party has seen its biggest gains.The strongest support for Alternative for Germany in Berlin was in the eastern fringes of the city, reflecting widespread discontent in the former East Germany, where the party has seen its biggest gains.
About two weeks ago, the party surpassed the Christian Democrats in Ms. Merkel’s home state, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, coming in second, after the Social Democrats. “When the Alternative for Germany is able to make such a strong showing, it has a radiating effect across all of Germany,” said Georg Pazderski, the candidate in Berlin for the party. “By now we have arrived in all of Germany.”
“We are all angry that the AfD got in,” Michael Müller, the Social Democratic mayor of Berlin, told supporters in the capital, using an abbreviation for Alternative for Germany. “But I can assure you that Berlin will remain an international city, open to the world.”