Merz Conservatives Face Stiff Test in One-Time German Stronghold

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives are facing an unexpected challenge in their bid to wrest back power in a wealthy southwestern region from the Greens, the first in a series of state electoral tests for the German leader this year.

Merz’s Christian Democratic Union was the heavy favorite to beat the environmental party into second place in Baden-Wuerttemberg in the months leading up to Sunday’s vote, with ambitions to take back the reins of government after 15 years.