Merkel’s centre-right CDU-CSU bloc sunk to a historic low in Sunday’s vote, their worst election showing in post-war German history. Among the major upsets, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) flipped Merkel’s own constituency on the Baltic coast in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, taking a seat Merkel had held uninterrupted since 1990. Merkel, who’s stepping down as chancellor when a new government is formed, had continuously won a direct mandate in the electoral district 15 of Vorpommern-Rügen – Vorpommern-Greifswald I since it was created after reunification in Germany. Merkel’s old conservative foe Friedrich Merz is set to make his parliamentary comeback after snatching a direct mandate from an SPD candidate. Health Minister Jens Spahn from the CDU, who has been steering the country through the coronavirus pandemic, easily held onto his seat in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Source: The Local September 28, 2021 07:18 UTC