US EditionGerman Greens lead Chancellor Merz's conservatives in state election
The Greens secured 30.2% of the vote, narrowly ahead of CDU's 29.7%, while the far-right AfD surged to 18.8%, nearly doubling its previous result, officials said.
- On Sunday, March 8, 2026, the Greens led Baden‑Württemberg in early projections, ARD showing 30.4% to the CDU's 29.7% in the first of five state votes this year.
- Amid concerns about the economy, the Greens overtook the CDU late, helped by Cem Özdemir's popularity and established profile, as Jens Spahn highlighted Merz’s struggles.
- Voter turnout was 69.6%, and both the Greens and the CDU won 56 seats each, while the AfD finished third with 18.8% and the SPD barely cleared 5.5%.
- The result positions Cem Özdemir, Green lead candidate, to become premier if confirmed, continuing the Green–CDU coalition while Manuel Hagel, CDU candidate, accepted responsibility for the defeat.
- As the first of five state votes, this election could shape German federal politics and Chancellor Friedrich Merz's reform agenda, affecting Baden‑Württemberg's economy and Rhineland‑Palatinate's March 22 poll.
110 Articles
110 Articles
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has lost a state election in Baden-Württemberg, which Merz himself has cited as a measure of his performance. His party only narrowly lost ground to the Greens, who have ruled the state for two terms, but it is still a major disappointment for the Christian Democrats, who have long had a landslide lead in the polls.
Associated Press News
Merz's party stumbles into a year of German state elections with a narrow defeat
Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party has made a disappointing start to a year packed with German state elections, suffering a narrow defeat in an important industrial region after a prominent candidate powered the environmentalist Greens to a come-from-behind victory.
Sunday's election, the first in a series of five regional elections to be held in 2026, was a test for the Conservative government Friedrich Merz, in power in Berlin since May 2025.
In Baden-Württemberg, the Greens won, while the AfD doubled its votes.
The CDU loses a surely believed election in its former home country, the SPD plunges into the groundless. For the black-red coalition in the alliance, uncomfortable times begin.
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