Election in Mecklenburg: a yellow card for Merkel

A local parliamentary election was held on 4 September 2016 in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The SPD led by the state’s Minister-President Erwin Sellering garnered the largest number of votes – 30.6% as compared to 35.6% in 2011. The CDU finished third, receiving only 19% of the vote. They trailed the anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic party known as Alternative for Germany (AfD). The support level for the Left Party, which is traditionally strong in the eastern federal states, was 5.2 percentage points lower than in the previous election at 13.2%. The Green Party (4.8%) and the neo-Nazi NPD party (3%) did not make it to the Landtag. The liberal party FDP (3%) also failed to return to the local parliament. Voter turnout reached 61.63%—10 percentage points higher than in 2011.

ESO: Background information: The political manifesto of the Alternative for Germany – the sum of all fears http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-political-manifesto-of-the-alternative-for-germany-the-sum-of-all-fears/

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