Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel likes to take her time before making important decisions. But in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), her timing couldn’t have been worse.
She tried to delay the unpopular rescue package for Greece until after Sunday’s election in Germany’s most populous state, only to push it through parliament in the week before the vote.
Greece came back to haunt the centre-right coalition in NRW.
According to a poll on Saturday, 21 % of voters said their decision would be influenced by the bailout.
And the next day they voted the regional coalition of Mrs Merkel’s Christian-Democrats (CDU) and their liberal Free Democrat allies (FDP) out of office.
NRW traditionally provides a template for national politics in Germany.
Five years ago, the state premier Juergen Ruettgers heralded Mrs Merkel’s victory in the national election when he took NRW for the CDU after almost four decades of rule by the Social Democrats (SPD).
An ashen-faced Mr Ruettgers described Sunday’s results as “bitter”.
According to reliable projections, the CDU saw their support fall by around 10% compared to 2005. The liberals, which won around 6.5%, said they were “disappointed.”
Bouncing back
By contrast, the regional SPD leader Hannelore Kraft was radiant.
“The SPD,” she announced, “is back!”
This is a personal triumph for the 48-year old economist with the common touch - her family name means “power” in German - and a much-needed boost for her party, which registered its worst result since World War II in last September’s general election.
Ms Kraft’s preferred allies, the Greens, are the winners of the day, practically doubling their regional vote to over 12%.
Yet it is unclear if together they have a majority.
Ms Kraft has not entirely ruled out co-opting the Left party, poised to enter the NRW state parliament for the first time.
But the party, which includes former communists, is distrusted by many in the SPD and described as “extremist” by the CDU.
National impact
For the governing coalition in Berlin, this is “a warning shot,” as the Liberal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle admitted.
Critics say Mr Westerwelle himself should take much of the blame for insisting on tax cuts at a time when the budget is under strain from the economic crisis, high borrowing and falling tax revenues.
The bickering between liberals and conservatives, which has dogged the governing coalition ever since it was formed six months ago, could get even worse, with each party blaming each other for losing NRW, and with it the majority in the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat.
Chancellor Merkel will find it much harder to push the coalition’s agenda through parliament.
She will have to negotiate with the opposition on key policies, including tax cuts, health system reforms and nuclear energy.
Uncertain times
Adding to Mrs Merkel’s problems are concerns about the health of Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, her right-hand man during the Greek crisis.
On Sunday, he was taken to hospital in Brussels during a key EU meeting on stabilising the euro.
He apparently suffered an allergic reaction to a new medicine.
Mr Schaeuble, who uses a wheelchair since he was shot by a mentally-ill man in 1990, has recently spent long periods in hospital because of a badly-healed wound after an operation.
He was replaced at the last minute in Brussels by Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere.
Back from the Victory Day parade in Moscow, Chancellor Merkel moved fast to show that she remains fully in charge in these uncertain times.
Officials said she spoke to US President Barack Obama about the euro, for the second time in three days, and held an emergency cabinet meeting with German officials in Brussels.
On Monday, she will face the press alongside Juergen Ruettgers.
She has however one reason for cheer. These were the first, and last, regional elections in Germany this year.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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