Merkel coalition in danger

It is the "beginning of the end for the black-yellow coalition in Berlin," announces Die Tageszeitung in its analysis of the 9 May North Rhine Westphalia regional election defeat of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and its liberal coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party. In what has been termed a "mini-general election" in the country's most populous state, neither the CDU (34.6% of the vote), which currently leads the federal government in Berlin, or SPD (Social Democratic Party) (34.5%) achieved a majority, and support for the FDP fell sharply from 14.6% in general elections last September to just 6.7%. The left-wing daily, which is hostile to federal government policies, congratulates the voters in the Landfor turning against the coalition. The election defeat will result in serious difficulties for the German Chancellor, because the loss of a conservative majority in the Land will also deprive her of a majority of seats in the Bundesrat, Germany's upper legislative chamber. "For this reason, the government in Berlin will now have to deal with other parties," notes TAZ. In the German press, comment on the coalition's defeat focuses on Berlin's "arrogant" regional policy and the tax cuts that have now been rejected by voters, as well as the disastrous political consequences of Mrs Merkel's hesitation in the Greek bail-out deal.