Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right party was headed for clear defeats in two German state elections at the hands of popular governors from parties further to the left, exit polls today suggested. Exit polls are pointing to defeats for Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right party CDU in two German state electionsThe Union bloc of CDU and CSU benefited from Merkel's perceived good management of the pandemic over the past year. It still leads national polls by a distance from the Greens and Social Democrats, but this year has started badly. 'What we see today is that forming a government is possible without the CDU,' said the Social Democrats' candidate for chancellor, current Finance Minister Olaf Scholz. Merkel's Christian Democrats have seen a decline in support in the states of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, where elections are being held this weekend.

Source: The Nation March 14, 2021 19:41 UTC