Merkel Failure to Turn Popularity Into Victory Puts CDU at Risk
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s re-election bid suffered a setback yesterday as voters ousted her Christian Democrats in Lower Saxony in their third straight regional defeat.
Failing to leverage surging popularity into victories in state elections means Merkel’s ambition for a third term may founder at the national level. Voters in Lower Saxony yesterday gave a one-seat majority to a Social Democratic-led bloc even after a jump in support for her Free Democrat partners and the first-place finish of CDU Premier David McAllister.