#GERMANY: Anti-Merkel Populists Make Gains In Two State Elections

[world politics news]

Chancellor Angela Merkel's hold on power was dealt a huge blow when support for her conservatives and Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners bled support to the far right in two state elections - a double blow to her already unstable ruling alliance.

Merkel's Christian Democrats remained the largest party in Saxony, but saw their share of the vote drop by 7.4 points from the 2014 election to 32% with the populist Alternative for Germany Party almost tripling it's vote and coming in second.

The AfD harnessed voter anger over refugees and the planned closure of coal mines in the eastern states.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Christian Democrats Fight To Restore Credibility After Merkel's Unpopular Immigration Policies

[world politics news]

Saying they had "learned their lesson" about the deeply unpopular, unfettered immigration policies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, her party, the Christian Democrats, have met in an effort to shore up their image. The party, which now has a new leader, has seen support hemorrhage since the 2015 refugee crisis.

Leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the party had to prevent any repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis, which saw hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees arrive in Germany. "We must do everything we can to prevent this from happening again," she said. "We have learned our lesson."

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GERMANY: #Merkel, #EU Leaders Hammer Out Deal On Migrants; But Will It Satisfy Her Coalition Partner?

[world politics news]

Chancellor Angela Merkel's has met with EU leaders in Brussels, where they laid out a common European Union plan on keeping out more asylum-seekers. It's unclear, however, if Merkel has made a deal that would appease her Bavarian coalition partner, the Christian Social Union, which precipitated a government coalition crisis in the past few weeks by insisting that asylum-seekers who had already registered in other countries be turned away at the German border.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#GERMANY: Dispute Over Refugee Numbers Threatens Merkel's Ruling Coalition

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A disagreement between Angela Merkel and and her Interior Minister Horst Seehofer is threatening to collapse the German government less than three months after it was formed. Not for the first time, the two can’t agree on how to treat asylum seekers at the border. Seehofer and his Christian Democrats (Merkel's coalition partner, and ruling party of Bavaria) want solid limits on refugees being taken in at the border. Merkel's party has refused.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#GERMANY: Merkel Gets Renewed Coalition With Social Democrats, But Is Greatly Weakened

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Social Democrats have agreed to another "loveless" coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel, ending four months of horse-trading and gridlock in Germany, after two minor parties refused to work with her during a fourth term, which she won in October. Sixty-six percent of the Social Democrats, in a mail-in ballot, supported the coalition. They had their worst showing at the polls last year since the Second World War. The SPD's youth chief Kevin Kühnert, ran an impassioned campaign against the planned coalition, forcing the party membership to vote, and saying he wouldn't withhold criticism.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#GERMANY: Social Dems Would Rather Support Merkel Minority Gov't Than Enter Into Coalition

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As members of Germany’s Social Democrats prepare to vote on possible coalition talks with Angela Merkel’s conservatives in Berlin later this week, a new poll says most of the party’s supporters don’t want another "grand coalition."  The poll, published by Spiegel Online, asked supporters of both the SPD and Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union bloc which potential government SPD leaders should back. Among SPD voters, just 28% opted for a grand coalition. However, more than half (57%) said the SPD should support a Merkel-led minority government.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#GERMANY: Merkel's Coalition Talks Break Down After Free Democrats Walk Out; New Elections Loom

[world politics news]

In Germany’s biggest political upset in years, Free Democratic Party liberals walked out on coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the Greens. Merkel's CDU and their Bavarian allies the CSU, the Greens and the FDP have been struggling to form a coalition for more than a month. It's feared that a new election could be called that would net very similar results, if polling is accurate.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#GERMANY: Merkel's Coalition Partner In Bavaria Wants National Burqa Ban

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The conservative Christian Social Union, the ruling party in Bavaria, want to pass a new law making it illegal for anyone to wear a burqa in Germany. Finance Min. Ilse Aigner said it contradicted Germany's idea of sexual equality. "It’s about living together as a society and seeing one another,” she said. The ban would also apply to tourists.

#GERMANY: #AngelaMerkel's Coalition Partner, Christian Social Democrats, Call Approach To Migration "A Mistake"

[world politics news]

Members of the CSU - sister party to Angela Merkel's CDU - have dubbed the German Chancellor's handling of the refugee crisis a "mistake." They warn about social cost of having more migrants than native-born Germans and the fear that ISIS has infiltrated the refuges with terrorists.