Green Lawmaker’s Switch Opens Door to Merkel’s Party
- German region of Lower Saxony heads toward early election
- SPD state premier in limbo seven weeks before national vote
Angela Merkel
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Lower Saxony, the German state that’s home to carmaker Volkswagen AG, faces early elections after regional premier Stephan Weil lost his legislative majority with the defection of a Green lawmaker to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats.
Seven weeks before Merkel seeks re-election in a national ballot, the Social Democratic Party accused her party of undemocratic tactics by poaching Green legislator Elke Twesten and undermining the SPD-led state government. The Social Democrats, led by Martin Schulz, trail Merkel’s party bloc in all polls ahead of the Sept. 24 election.