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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Deborah Cole in Berlin

‘Bitter result’ for Friedrich Merz as Greens win in German car heartland

Friedrich Merz Greens Cem Özdemir AFD CDU Germany the Social Democrats
Özdemir smiling and waving on Sunday, as people applaud next to him
Özdemir ran a pragmatic, centrist campaign for the Greens, who are polling at just 12% nationally. Photograph: Bernd Weißbrod/AP

Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) have stumbled into a busy election year with a defeat to the Greens in a key state poll, as his embattled party struggles to fend off a challenge in other pivotal races from the far right.

The German chancellor’s conservative CDU had enjoyed a double-digit lead in the south-western car production region of Baden-Württemberg just weeks ago but the Greens and their charismatic candidate Cem Özdemir eked out a half-point-margin win in Sunday’s poll with 30.2%.

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