If opinion polls are any indication, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is heading for a humiliating electoral defeat in own home state. On Sunday, the voters in the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which includes Chancellor Merkel’s home constituency of Rügen, will be electing a new state assembly.
The result of the state election could seal the political fate of Chancellor Merkel who has not given up her hopes of running for a 4th term. Having been at the helm of affairs in Germany for over 12 years, Merkel has not ruled out running for yet another term, but has been ducking questions about her political future in recent weeks. A devastating defeat, like the one being predicted by the pollsters, could finally put an end to her ambitions.
Chancellor Merkel’s stance on mass migration might have made her the poster girl of many Hollywood celebrities and the liberals worldwide, but have alienated the loyal base of her conservative Christian Democratic Party (CDU) and its Bavarian sister-Party CSU.
London-based newspaper Express reports:
The outlook is not good for the Chancellor’s own party in the state election for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which includes Mrs Merkel’s home constituency.Her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party is currently struggling in the polls against the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has gained support in the region for their anti-migrant, closed-border policies.While CDU are polling at 22 per cent, AfD is within the margin of error at 21 per cent – with an election day boost expected to propel the right-wing group over Mrs Merkel’s struggling party.In March, the AfD experienced a similar last-minute boost when they won 24 per cent of a regional vote despite only polling at 19 per cent, and leader Leif-Erik Holm expects the current social climate in Germany to lead to another success this weekend.
These regional elections coincide with the first anniversary of Chancellor Merkel’s Open Boarders Policy. In August 2015, German Chancellor arbitrarily suspended the Dublin Framework set in place to monitor and register migrants entering Europe. In following months Germany took in more than a million migrants, mostly young men from Muslim and Arab countries.
The public mood visibly turned against Merkel’s handling of the migration crisis after the reports of mess sexual assaults on the New Year’s Eve in Cologne and other German cities. The recent wave of terror attacks in Germany committed by migrants owing allegiance to Islamic State (ISIS) has further pitted popular mood against Merkel’s ‘Refugees Welcome’ Policy.
Chancellor Merkel still does not face any serious opposition from within her party or from any of the other established parties in the German parliament — despite occasional verbal attacks and rumblings from politicians across the spectrum. Merkel will most probably finish her term next year without facing any serious challenge from within. Only a resounding defeat of her Christian Democratic Party (CDU) in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, could cause her party to rethink the wisdom of going into 2017 general elections with Merkel at the helm and further endorsing her policy of Open Borders.
Video: Ahead of this week’s regional elections Chancellor Merkel’s popularity plummets further, reports Germany’s state-run DW News:
[Cover image courtesy Bundesregierung, YouTube]
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