Worst ever result for Merkel’s CDU in Hamburg state election

German chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) had their worst ever result in the Hamburg regional election on Sunday.
The centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) defended its position with 37.5% of the vote. The Greens, who have been in coalition with the SPD for the last five years in the city, came second, having doubled their votes to over 25% from the last election in 2015. CDU came third with 11.5%, having lost more than four points.
The Hamburg result was “a great success”, Greens national coleader Robert Habeck said.
The results are considered the voters’ punishment for the CDU’s collaboration with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to install a liberal as leader in the eastern state of Thuringia.
As a result, the CDU’s current leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, viewed as Angela Merkel’s successor, has announced her resignation amid the political crisis in Thuringia.
Last week, a racist gunman killed 11 people, including himself and his mother, in the western town of Hanau, triggering nationwide condemnation of the far-right.
Analysts expect the Greens to have a role in the next federal government, saying their success is not surprising amid recent fears of climate change, which is the the Greens’ priority.