Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc governs Germany in an often-cantankerous and unpopular "grand coalition" of what are traditionally the country's biggest parties with the center-left Social Democrats. In Sunday's election, both had their worst showing yet in a nationwide vote, with the Social Democrats sinking to third place behind the resurgent Greens. The Social Democrats' leader, Andrea Nahles, said "it is completely clear to everyone how serious the situation is" after her party slumped to third place on Sunday, overtaken by the Greens. Markus Soeder, the leader of the Christian Social Union — part of Merkel's center-right bloc — urged the Social Democrats to "clear up what they want." The leader of Merkel's CDU, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, acknowledged making mistakes but also made clear she sees no need for resignations.

Source: Fox News May 27, 2019 16:41 UTC