Germany has been the rock of the European Union for at least half a century. Since 2005 Germany has been governed by coalitions led by Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union. She was saved at the last moment by a decision by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) to join a coalition of her party and the Christian Social Union. Now that the Christian Social Union has suffered its worse loss in Bavaria in decades, odds are increasing that Merkel’s coalition could collapse, with no apparent successor in sight. Both the Social Democrats and the Christian Social Union have been shaken by the results and both are pointing to Merkel’s leadership as a prime cause for their troubles.

Source: National Post October 18, 2018 14:37 UTC