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| Angela Merkel’s Re-election Bid Is Buoyed by Widely Watched State Election | Angela Merkel’s Re-election Bid Is Buoyed by Widely Watched State Election |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany received a significant lift to her re-election bid on Sunday when her party finished a clear first in a state election that was widely watched as a test of her strength. | BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany received a significant lift to her re-election bid on Sunday when her party finished a clear first in a state election that was widely watched as a test of her strength. |
| Results from Sunday’s vote in tiny Saarland, which borders France and is home to around one million people, showed that Ms. Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats had won 40.7 percent of the vote. | Results from Sunday’s vote in tiny Saarland, which borders France and is home to around one million people, showed that Ms. Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats had won 40.7 percent of the vote. |
| The popular Christian Democrat governor of Saarland, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who secured the win, is such a close ally of the chancellor that she is often called “the mini-Merkel.” So Sunday’s election also seemed a victory for Germany’s leader. | The popular Christian Democrat governor of Saarland, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who secured the win, is such a close ally of the chancellor that she is often called “the mini-Merkel.” So Sunday’s election also seemed a victory for Germany’s leader. |
| Ms. Merkel is seeking a fourth term in national elections on Sept. 24, a race that has grown more challenging in recent weeks after her center-left rivals, the Social Democrats, unanimously selected a new candidate, Martin Schulz, to lead them into the fight. | Ms. Merkel is seeking a fourth term in national elections on Sept. 24, a race that has grown more challenging in recent weeks after her center-left rivals, the Social Democrats, unanimously selected a new candidate, Martin Schulz, to lead them into the fight. |
| Results from Saarland suggest Mr. Schulz has helped increase the Social Democrats’ appeal. The party won 29.6 percent of the vote, about five percentage points more than polls had shown before he took over party leadership. But the center left fell short of its goal of finishing first among Saarland’s approximately 800,000 voters. | |
| One outcome that had been in play in Saarland was a governing partnership between the center-left Social Democrats and the far-left Left party, in what would have been the first such coalition in a western German state. But the Left party won only around 13 percent of the vote, and it is likely that the Social Democrats will again be a junior partner in Saarland in a coalition with the Christian Democrats. | |
| “It was a clear ‘No’ to a Left government,” Ms. Kramp-Karrenbauer said. | “It was a clear ‘No’ to a Left government,” Ms. Kramp-Karrenbauer said. |
| Another ally of Ms. Merkel, her chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, who is from Saarland, said the result showed that “straightforward good government” was a winner with German voters. | Another ally of Ms. Merkel, her chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, who is from Saarland, said the result showed that “straightforward good government” was a winner with German voters. |
| The far-right Alternative for Germany, which has advanced on an anti-migrant, anti-Muslim platform, got 6.2 percent of the vote, clearing the 5 percent hurdle to get seats. It will now sit in 12 of Germany’s 16 state legislatures. | |
| Mr. Schulz acknowledged disappointment in his party’s performance, but encouraged his supporters not to waver in the monthslong campaign for the national election. | Mr. Schulz acknowledged disappointment in his party’s performance, but encouraged his supporters not to waver in the monthslong campaign for the national election. |
| Although Mr. Schulz has lifted his party’s flagging fortunes, most polls show that Ms. Merkel, who has almost 12 years’ experience of international leadership and crisis management, is still the preferred chancellor. | Although Mr. Schulz has lifted his party’s flagging fortunes, most polls show that Ms. Merkel, who has almost 12 years’ experience of international leadership and crisis management, is still the preferred chancellor. |
| But Sunday’s projected victory for her party by no means guarantees that she will retain power in September. | But Sunday’s projected victory for her party by no means guarantees that she will retain power in September. |
| In the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, a leading German newspaper, the commentator Nico Fried compared Ms. Merkel’s situation to that of a janitor sweeping sidewalks during a snowstorm: “As soon as he has cleared one patch, he can start all over again.” | In the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, a leading German newspaper, the commentator Nico Fried compared Ms. Merkel’s situation to that of a janitor sweeping sidewalks during a snowstorm: “As soon as he has cleared one patch, he can start all over again.” |
| Mr. Fried pointed out that even if Ms. Merkel’s party keeps power in Saarland, there are two other state elections looming where he called her chances of victory slim or hopeless. That appears particularly true in North-Rhine Westphalia, a state that is home to almost 18 million people and votes on May 14, just a week after the crucial second round in France’s presidential elections. | Mr. Fried pointed out that even if Ms. Merkel’s party keeps power in Saarland, there are two other state elections looming where he called her chances of victory slim or hopeless. That appears particularly true in North-Rhine Westphalia, a state that is home to almost 18 million people and votes on May 14, just a week after the crucial second round in France’s presidential elections. |
| Ms. Merkel, who at times lately has seemed weary, traveled to Saarland on Thursday to plead with Christian Democrats to turn out for the election and persuade others to do the same. | Ms. Merkel, who at times lately has seemed weary, traveled to Saarland on Thursday to plead with Christian Democrats to turn out for the election and persuade others to do the same. |
| The national election is still months away, and will probably be decided in the final weeks of campaigning. But in the meantime, as Mr. Fried noted, Ms. Merkel must keep her fractious center-right bloc not just together, but in a positive mood. | The national election is still months away, and will probably be decided in the final weeks of campaigning. But in the meantime, as Mr. Fried noted, Ms. Merkel must keep her fractious center-right bloc not just together, but in a positive mood. |
| Some Christian Democrats have grown impatient with what they see as a lack of a clear response by Ms. Merkel to the surge in popularity of the center left. Months of disagreement between Ms. Merkel and the Christian Democrats’ sister party in Bavaria over the management of hundreds of thousands of refugees has gnawed at the unity that her bloc will need to win in September. | Some Christian Democrats have grown impatient with what they see as a lack of a clear response by Ms. Merkel to the surge in popularity of the center left. Months of disagreement between Ms. Merkel and the Christian Democrats’ sister party in Bavaria over the management of hundreds of thousands of refugees has gnawed at the unity that her bloc will need to win in September. |
| Mr. Schulz, the first leader of his party to be chosen unanimously, responded on Sunday to complaints that he has offered few policy specifics by outlining some goals in an interview with Bild, the country’s best-selling newspaper. | Mr. Schulz, the first leader of his party to be chosen unanimously, responded on Sunday to complaints that he has offered few policy specifics by outlining some goals in an interview with Bild, the country’s best-selling newspaper. |
| Mr. Schulz is making a clear play for female voters. He promised in the interview that if he becomes chancellor, at least half his cabinet ministers will be women. Ms. Merkel’s tenure as chancellor has helped other women pursue careers in politics, but she has rarely acted directly to advance women, though she backed measures encouraging men to take parental leave. | Mr. Schulz is making a clear play for female voters. He promised in the interview that if he becomes chancellor, at least half his cabinet ministers will be women. Ms. Merkel’s tenure as chancellor has helped other women pursue careers in politics, but she has rarely acted directly to advance women, though she backed measures encouraging men to take parental leave. |
| Talking to Bild, Mr. Schulz said he would aim for universal free kindergarten, which would benefit many working women. He also said that university education and Germany’s vaunted skilled-labor training programs should be free for students. | Talking to Bild, Mr. Schulz said he would aim for universal free kindergarten, which would benefit many working women. He also said that university education and Germany’s vaunted skilled-labor training programs should be free for students. |
| In the best traditions of the center left, he suggested, without making a firm commitment, that his party would rather spend less on weapons than on social causes. | In the best traditions of the center left, he suggested, without making a firm commitment, that his party would rather spend less on weapons than on social causes. |
| That could set up a clash with Washington, which has urged Germany to do more to meet the goal set for NATO members of military spending equal to 2 percent of annual gross domestic product. President Trump has even suggested Germany owes the United States “vast sums” for America’s past defense of the country. |