CDU suffers losses in state elections | At a Glance | Deutsche Welle | 28.01.2008

CDU suffers losses in state elections At a Glance Deutsche Welle 28.01.2008: "CDU suffers losses in state elections" German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union has lost support in two state elections. In Hesse, State Premier Roland Koch, who made immigrant crime an election issue, lost his absolute majority in parliament. While the CDU might still form a coalition, its vote share was barely above that of the Social Democrat SPD. The balance of power in Hesse now lies with the smaller parties, the Greens, the liberal FDP and the Left Party and it is still not clear who will be able to form a coalition government. Meanwhile, in Lower Saxony, the CDU, led by Premier Christian Wulff has been returned to power with enough of the votes to form a government with the FDP. The CDU and SPD, traditional political foes, have ruled Germany in an uneasy Grand Coalition since 2005. Sunday's results are likely to lead to more in-fighting in the Grand Coalition.