Merkel’s party suffers first defeat by anti-immigration populists in German state election

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party has been beaten by the populist Alternative for Germany for the first time in a state election, showing the persistence of the backlash against her open-border refugee policy.

Merkel’s Christian Democrats took 19 per cent in the Baltic coast state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Sunday, while Alternative for Germany, or AfD, had about 22 per cent, according to ARD projections based on partial returns. The Social Democrats, who have governed the eastern state since 1998, won the election with an estimated 30.3 per cent, dropping Merkel’s party to third place in her political homeland.

“This result is bitter for everybody in our party,” CDU General Secretary Peter Tauber told reporters in Berlin. “There are people who have fears and concerns - and we didn’t manage to quell these fears.”

A year before national elections in which Merkel may seek a fourth term, the defeat underscores the surge in public anxiety in Germany that’s put the chancellor on the defensive after more than 1 million asylum seekers arrived last year. The AfD, which blames the influx on Merkel’s refusal to close the borders, campaigned against immigration as well as opposing her renewable-energy strategy and arguing against sanctions on Russia.

“Merkel’s catastrophic refugee policy always plays a role,” AfD’s co-chairwoman Frauke Petry told broadcaster ZDF.