- Title: CDU supporters, disappointed but still hopeful after election tie with SPD
- Date: 26th September 2021
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (SEPTEMBER 26, 2021) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF GERMANY'S CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS (CDU) HEADQUARTERS IN BERLIN GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL ARRIVING AT HEADQUARTERS IN CAR CDU MEMBERS WATCHING EXIT POLL RESULTS SHOWING TIE BETWEEN CDU AND SOCIAL DEMOCRATS (SPD) (SOUNDBITE) (German) CDU SUPPORTER, FABIAN BEINE, SAYING: "This is a result we cannot be happy about. We have lost support and we have to admit that. And we can't be happy about that." SCREEN INSIDE HEADQUARTERS SHOWING EXIT POLLS, CDU SUPPORTERS WALKING PAST CAMERA (SOUNDBITE) (German) CDU SUPPORTER, FABIAN BEINE, SAYING: "I still have hopes that the chancellor at the end of the evening and especially after coalitions talks will be Armin Laschet, for example in a future coalition with the Greens and the FDP. Then the whole thing might end well after all." CDU SUPPORTERS STANDING AT DOOR (SOUNDBITE) (German) CDU SUPPORTER, RUEDIGER LENTZ, SAYING: "It will be difficult. We expected a tie and I think we will have to wait until later tonight to talk about possible coalitions." (SOUNDBITE) (German) CDU SUPPORTER, ANSGAR FOCKE, SAYING: "I of course hope the CDU gets a bit more support and that that shows in the end results. In the end, all the parties have to ask themselves how to form a stable coalition. Armin Laschet has shown he can do that in North-Rhine Westphalia and he has said he is ready to do it. And that is what I hope for. I hope for a Jamaica coalition to secure a stable government." MEDIA TRUCKS PARKED OUTSIDE CDU HEADQUARTERS EXTERIOR OF HEADQUARTERS
- Embargoed: 10th October 2021 19:20
- Keywords: CDU supporters Laschet Merkel SPD coalition election government tie
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Europe,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001EWCU9MV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: German Christian Democrats were disappointed on Sunday (September 26) after their party slumped to a post-war low for a federal election.
"This is a result we cannot be happy about. We have lost support and we have to admit that. And we can't be happy about that," said Fabian Beine, a younger member of the party at their headquarters in Berlin.
Germany's Social Democrats came first by a narrow margin in Sunday's national election, projected results showed, putting them in pole position to lead a government for the first time since 2005 and to end 16 years of conservative-led rule under Angela Merkel.
The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) were on track for 25.5% of the vote, ahead of 24.5% for Merkel's CDU/CSU conservative bloc, projections for broadcaster ARD showed, but both groups believed they could lead the next government.
"In the end, all the parties have to ask themselves how to form a stable coalition," said Ansgar Focke, also a CDU member.
"And that is what I hope for. I hope for a Jamaica coalition and a stable government," he added, referring to the same coalition with Greens and FDP).
Whatever coalition formation ends up in power, Germany's friends can at least take heart from an election campaign in which moderate centrism prevailed, and the populism that has taken hold in other European countries failed to breakthrough.
(Production: Oliver Ellrodt, Zoltan Berta and Elena Gyldenkerne) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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