Merkel’s FDP allies seen off by Pirates

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union secured a convincing win in a regional Land election in Saarland on the 25 March 2012. but her Free Democratic federal coalition allies crashed to a humiliating defeat and were outshone by the pro-internet freedom Pirate party.

The Saarland vote was the first of three state contests in coming weeks, which would provide important tests of popular support for Ms Merkel and her handling of the eurozone debt crisis ahead of the 2013 national elections. May 2012 would see elections in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous of the country’s 16 states.

The poor showing of the FDP in Saarland would provoke fears within the CDU that the FDP also faced extinction at the federal level – leaving Ms Merkel without a natural centre-right partner party

ESO: Background information: Budget rejection triggers poll in German state http://www.europeansources.info/record/budget-rejection-triggers-poll-in-german-state/

BBC News, 26.3.12: Huge defeat for German Free Democrats in Saarland http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17505712

Deutsche Welle, 26.3.12: CDU holds its own in Saarland http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15837387,00.html

Spiegel Online International, 26.3.12: Relief for Merkel's Conservatives After Poll Victory http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,823664,00.html

Spiegel Online International: Tag: German State Elections http://www.spiegel.de/international/topic/german_state_elections/

EurActiv, 26.3.12: Saarland vote weakens Merkel's coalition http://www.euractiv.com/elections/saarland-vote-weakens-merkels-co-news-511740

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