German election live updates Slight edge for Social Democrats in race to succeed Merkel projection shows
Germanyâs parliamentary elections are underway, and just one thing is certain: The era of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been in power for 16 years, is coming to an end. The race for her successor remains wide open. Two parties are battling it out on top: Merkelâs center-right Christian Democratic Union and the center-left Social Democratic Party. The Greens appear behind in the polls but remain a big factor in possible post-election efforts to craft a coalition government.
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BERLIN â" The lead candidate for Merkelâs Christian Democratic Union expressed disappointment with initial exit polls but said he would try do everything he could to build a coalition and keep the party in government.
At the Konrad Adenauer Haus, the conservative CDUâs headquarters in Berlin, the initial exit polls were met with hushed murmurs. One put the party and its center-left rival, the Social Democrats, neck and neck with 25 percent each. Another put the Social Democrats two points ahead.
âWe cannot be satisfied with the result,â Armin Laschet, the chancellor candidate for the CDU and its smaller ally, the Christian Social Union, said as he spoke before party officials and the media at the party headquarters.
Analysts warn that exit polls could be less accurate than usual this time around because of the large number of mail-in ballots. But the CDU is looking at the possibility of suffering its worst result in history.
Still, Laschet said he would do âeverything possibleâ to form a government led by his party. Thereâs nothing in German law that mandates that the largest party gets to form a government, leaving open the possibility that the CDU may try to form one even if it comes in behind its rivals.
The biggest applause came as the exit polls showed that a government between the Social Democrats, the Greens and the left-wing Die Linke might not be possible, making it potentially complicated for the Social Democrats, the CDUâs chief rival, to forge a coalition, too.
Like in U.S., surge in mail-in voting expected to be pivotal Link copiedIn echoes of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, all eyes are on Germanyâs mail-in votes in a tight race for leadership.
Election officials predict mail-in ballots could account for more than 40 percent of the total. As in other countries, the increase in vote-by-post has been attributed to the coronavirus pandemic. Four years ago, about 29 percent of Germans returned their ballots by mail.
The mail-in votes were tallied Sunday at the same time as votes from polling stations. But the mail-ins were not part of exit polls, which put Merkelâs Christian Democrats and the center-left Social Democrats in a virtual tie.
Germanyâs far-right Alternative for Germany party has sought to portray mail-in voting as unsafe and has raised the possibility of fraud. Election officials have rejected those claims as unfounded.
âPostal votes have been around since 1957, and to this day we have no evidence of irregularities to an extent that they could influence the election result,â election official Georg Thiel told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland news outlet before the vote.
Early projections: One shows edge for Social Democrats; another with tieLink copiedOne early projection put the center-left Social Democrats slightly ahead of Merkelâs conservative Christian Democrats shortly after voting ended Sunday. Another projection said the parties were side by side.
A projection by the pollsters Forschungsgruppe Wahlen and public broadcaster ZDF gave the Social Democrats a small edge over the Christian Democrats, whose candidate, Armin Laschet, is seeking to succeed the retiring Merkel as chancellor. But a projection by broadcaster ARD showed the two parties effectively tied.
Analysts have cautioned that early projections and exit polls may swing more than usual this time because of the large number of mail-in votes.
Top parties neck and neck in German election, according to exit pollsLink copiedA closely watched exit poll put both Merkelâs conservative Christian Democrats and their center-left rivals, the Social Democrats, at 25 percent. The Infratest dimap poll is based on a random sample of voters. Such exit polls have showed only small deviations from the actual results in past elections. But analysts say the exit polls could be less accurate this time because of the large number of mail-in ballots, which could account for as much as 40 percent of the vote.
A separate exit poll by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen, a private polling group contracted by the German broadcaster ZDF, showed the Social Democrats leading the Christian Democrats by 2 percentage points.
Exit polls also showed the far-left Die Linke party at around 5 percent, meaning that it may fail to reach the threshold to enter parliament. That outcome could have significant implications for all parties and their available options to form a coalition government.
Climate change a top concern for German voters, polls sayLink copiedClimate change and the environment are top concerns for the German electorate, far ahead of the coronavirus pandemic or immigration, according to surveys.
All three major parties â" the center-left Social Democrats, the conservative Christian Democrats and the Greens â" have promised action on climate change.
The Greens, which have put forward the most extensive proposals, topped national polls earlier this summer but have since dropped to third place behind the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats.
Younger voters, in particular, seek decisive action on climate issues. But they also fear that the Green partyâs slump could leave it in a weakened position in any coalition government it may join.
Midday turnout at 36.5 percent, but election officials note surge in mail-in ballotsLink copiedGerman election officials reported a turnout of 36.5 percent at slightly more than halfway through voting, lower than at the same time during federal elections four years ago. But experts cautioned that mail-in ballots are not included in the turnout figures, making direct comparisons difficult.
Officials had previously predicted a record number of mail-in votes this year.
In central Berlin, many voters made their way to voting stations despite a marathon that disrupted traffic.
âThis feels different than previous elections,â said Felix Schmidt, 29, who cast his ballots for the Green party and the far-left Linke party under Germanyâs two-vote system. âIn the past elections I voted in, it was always somewhat clear that Angela Merkel would win. But now the race is wide open.â
âDuring the pandemic, it seemed like [Merkel] didnât overreact and managed to keep a cool head. I will miss that,â said Christina Kern, 56, adding that she had nevertheless voted for the Green party. âItâs time for a fresh start.â
âMerkel was reliable and good,â said Mechthild Ronig, 63, who voted for the Social Democrats but said she hopes the conservatives will remain part of the government to facilitate a âtransition.â
Another issue for Berlin voters: Rising rentsLink copiedVoters in Berlin have another thing on their mind for the post-Merkel era: how to control rising rents.
In parallel to Sundayâs parliamentary elections, residents in Berlin are voting on whether authorities should take control of rental apartments from corporate landlords. The referendum is nonbinding, but it could become a rallying point for efforts to boost more affordable housing.
Initially dismissed as a utopian far-left proposal, the idea has gained momentum in Berlin, where four in five residents live in rental units. Berlin once had some of the cheapest rents of any Western European capital, but costs have surged.
In a recent survey, 47 percent of respondents said they agree that large corporate landlords should be forced to sell their residential apartments to the state.
But experts say it is unlikely that Sundayâs referendum, if passed, would result in sweeping changes in the short term. Most established parties in the city are opposed. Legal experts also caution that forcing the sale of the apartments may be unconstitutional.
As Merkel leaves world stage, some birds didnât want to let her goLink copiedThereâs the famous Merkel eyeroll. And her occasional impish grin.
Now we have the cringe, courtesy of a nip from a parrot.
During a visit to a bird park Thursday, Merkel was captured on camera as a group of hungry lorikeets, a type of parrot, landed on her shoulders and arms. In one photo, Merkel smiles as a lorikeet sits on her head. Then she appears to scream â" more jokingly than in actual pain â" as a bird bites the (still) most powerful leader in the Europe Union.
âMost of the birds flew away as soon as the food was gone,â Franziska Haase, a spokeswoman for the bird park, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Visitors to the park are usually allowed to hold an owl.
âBut Merkel didnât want that,â Haase said. âShe preferred to watch the owl from a safe distance.â
Key updateGerman candidates cast their vote â" with one sneak peekLink copiedThe three top candidates vying to succeed Merkel as Germanyâs next chancellor have cast their ballots. And the standard photo op event for journalists turned into a brief kerfuffle for one of them.
Armin Laschet, 60, who leads Merkelâs Christian Democratic Union and is running as its candidate, touched off a controversy in his home city of Aachen after some observers noted that his ballot was visible (and, yes, he voted CDU). That appeared to contravene Germanyâs Federal Elections Act, which stipulates voters should âfold the ballot paper in such a way that it is not possible to see how he or she has voted and place it in the ballot box.â (Officials later told the Bild newspaper: âThere are no legal consequences from holding or folding or submitting a ballot paper in an unfortunate manner.â)
Olaf Scholz, 63, of the center-left Social Democrats, voted in Potsdam. He said he hopes voters will give him âthe mandate to become the next chancellor,â according to Deutsche Welle.
Green party candidate Annalena Baerbock, 40, also cast her vote in Potsdam. In a tweet, she wrote: âIf you want a climate government, you should choose Green today.â
German Marshall Fundâs deputy director: Election marks âgenerational changeâLink copiedSudha David-Wilp, deputy director of the German Marshall Fundâs Berlin office, said the German election is a âgenerational changeâ because of how much Merkel elevated Berlinâs status in international affairs.
âItâs a change election, not just for Germany, but for Europe and, therefore, the whole world,â she said.
âThis is a generational change after 16 years of one person in power,â David-Wilp added. âI think for that reason alone, Germans are very unsure about who would be the proper successor to Angela Merkel.â
That indecision was reflected in pre-election polls. At least 40 percent of potential voters had not made a choice less than two weeks before the election, according to a poll by the Allensbach Institute commissioned by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The majority of those on the fence said they were not persuaded by any of the top candidates.
Climate activists end hunger strike after Scholz agrees to meetingBy Florian Neuhof7:46 a.m.Link copiedA pair of climate activists ended a hunger strike outside the German parliament after Olaf Scholz, the chancellor candidate for the center-left Social Democrats, agreed to a discussion after the vote.
Henning Jeschke, 21, who began the hunger strike in late August, said Scholz called him Saturday and promised to hold a public meeting on climate issues within four weeks. Jeschke was among activists who pitched tents in front of the Reichstag on Aug. 30 demanding to meet with the top three candidates about efforts to tackle the climate crisis. All three candidates initially declined.
Most of the hunger-strikers ended their protest on Thursday. But Jeschke and 24-year-old Lea Bonasera, who joined the hunger strike last week, raised the stakes, announcing that they would stop drinking liquids in addition to refusing food. They singled out Scholz since his party was leading in the polls heading into Sundayâs election. Greens candidate Annalena Baerbock met with the activists on Thursday, according to Germanyâs Die Zeit newspaper.
Key updateMerkelâs party narrows gap in the polls in home stretchLink copiedMerkelâs Christian Democrats have narrowed a gap in the polls in Germanyâs elections as she joined her beleaguered wannabe successor on the campaign trail.
The conservative Christian Democrats, who run in an alliance with their smaller Bavarian sister party, are projected to win 22 percent of the vote in the latest poll by Forsa, edging closer to the center-left Social Democrats, who are at 25 percent. This is within the pollâs margin of error, making the race too close to call. Politicoâs aggregate âPoll of pollsâ points to a similar gap.
The Forsa poll put Germanyâs Greens third at 16 percent, which still would be the environmentalist partyâs best result. The partyâs chancellor candidate, Annalena Baerbock, 40, has been dogged by questions over her CV and plagiarism accusations.
Bear market: Merkel tribute teddy bears all sold outLink copiedMerkel has been called many things during her 16 years as German chancellor. Soft and cuddly were rarely in the mix. But now, as she prepares to leave office, a German toy company has unveiled a commemorative teddy bear thatâs exactly that.
Hermann-Spielwaren â" a century-old, family-owned toy manufacturer based in Coburg, Germany â" began selling the 500 limited-edition bears in August. It sold out last week.
Roughly 15 inches tall, the bear sports a blond wig in the chancellorâs bobbed style, a beaded necklace in the colors of the German flag and a slight smile. The bearâs paws are positioned in the âMerkel-Rauteâ â" the diamond shape considered to be Merkelâs signature hand gesture.
She will receive a bear in a ceremony sometime after Sundayâs election, said Martin Hermann, the companyâs owner. On the bottom of its foot will be embroidered the number 16 to mark her years in office.
Before Germanyâs vote, E.U. warns Russia against attempting âmalicious cyber activitiesâLink copiedThe European Unionâs foreign policy chief has warned Russia against carrying out âmalicious cyber activities.â The message by Josep Borrell was not specifically aimed at potential threats to Germanyâs election. But it underscored concerns across Europe after repeated data breaches that security officials blame on Russian hackers.
Hackers have tried to steal data and access the personal accounts of government officials, politicians, journalists and activists, Borrell said in a statement Friday, calling them attempts to âundermine our democratic institutions and processes.â
He linked the attacks to the Ghostwriter hacking group, which German officials have said is associated with Russiaâs military intelligence service, the GRU. Germany has previously expressed concern that Russia could try to undermine German democracy or sway public opinion toward Moscow-friendly candidates.
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