Nevertheless, Laschet insisted that a coalition led by his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavarian sister party CSU can still be a viable option if ongoing talks led by rivals SPD were to fail. The CDU-CSU alliance must now prepare itself for a stint in opposition after 16 years in power led by Merkel, he said. Turning tideLaschet, who is state premier of Germany’s most populous region North Rhine-Westphalia, was elected head of the CDU in January. Official results of the election showed former CDU voters abandoning the party in droves, mostly in favour of the SPD and the Greens. Laschet said his party will hold a meeting in the east to look at how to win back voters from the AfD.

Source: The Local October 08, 2021 07:07 UTC