This Sunday, voters in Germany’s Baden-Württemberg and neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate went to the polls for state elections. In Baden-Württemberg, they dealt Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a serious blow. The results are seen as a bellwether for Germany’s federal elections, which are coming up in September and which, for the first time in a decade and a half, will not feature Merkel at the top of the CDU ticket.
Baden-Württemberg is home to such industry giants as Daimler and SAP. It is also home to Germany’s only Green-led government, which has now strengthened its power following a first-place result in this weekend’s vote. Going forward, it will have a renewed mandate to design a coalition government for the next five years. And in September, the Greens are likely to continue their surge. Although some may even speculate about the potential for a Green chancellor, the party may be more likely to serve as kingmaker to a bigger party.
