Saarland state election, 26 March 2017

State elections took place in the Saarland region of Germany on the 26 March 2017.

Commentators were interested to see the result as a sign of the possible result in the German federal elections expected in September 2017. Would the election of Martin Schulz as SPD leader and candidate for the German Chancellorship help the SPD in its fight against Chancellor's Merkel CDU in the Saarland election.

In the event, the CDU won approximately 40% of the vote against 30% for the SPD. The Left party (Die Linke) received approximately 13%, Alternative for Germany (AfD) 6.2% and the Greens 4.5%.

• Primary Source

The Local.de, 23.03.17: State vote in Saarland a first signal for Merkel election showdown https://www.thelocal.de/20170323/state-vote-in-saarland-a-first-signal-for-merkel-poll-showdown

The Guardian, 24.03.17: Have Germany’s Social Democrats found a winner in Martin Schulz? https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/24/martin-schulz-boost-to-germanys-spd-raises-stakes-for-angela-merkel

Politico, 24.03.17: Schulz effect faces first major test http://www.politico.eu/article/martin-schulz-spd-effect-faces-first-major-test/

ESO: Key Source: German federal election, 2017 http://www.europeansources.info/record/german-federal-election-2017/

BBC News, 26.03.17: Merkel's party wins in Saarland bellwether vote for Germany http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39397148

Deutsche Welle, 26.03.17: Merkel gets early election test with Saarland state poll http://dw.com/p/2Zb8S

Deutsche Welle, 26.03.17: Merkel's Christian Democrats win in Saarland state election http://dw.com/p/2ZyF0

Politico, 27.03.17: 3 takeaways from election in Germany’s Saarland http://www.politico.eu/article/3-takeaways-from-election-in-germanys-saarland-angela-merkel-cdu/

EurActiv, 27.03.17: Merkel’s party easily beats centre-left in Saarland state poll http://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/merkels-party-easily-beats-centre-left-in-saarland-state-poll/

The Local.de, 26.03.17: Merkel's party wins German state vote by large margin https://www.thelocal.de/20170326/merkels-party-wins-german-state-vote-by-large-margin-tv

EurActiv, 28.03.17: Merkel cheers poll win as ‘Schulz effect’ fizzles http://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/merkel-cheers-poll-win-as-schulz-effect-fizzles/

Politico, 28.03.17: Merkel: Embracing ‘grand coalition’ helped us win Saarland http://www.politico.eu/article/merkel-embracing-grand-coalition-helped-us-win-saarland-election-martin-schulz/

Deutsche Welle, 27.03.17: Merkel's CDU savors local election win http://dw.com/p/2a1hg

Deutsche Welle, 27.03.17: Germany's AfD in crisis after Saarland slump http://dw.com/p/2a4H3

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