- Title: German Greens lead Chancellor Merz's conservatives in state election
- Date: 8th March 2026
- Summary: STUTTGART, GERMANY (MARCH 8, 2026) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF GREEN PARTY, INCLUDING PRESIDENT OF THE STATE PARLIAMENT, MUHTEREM ARAS, REACTING TO FIRST EXIT POLLS, SHOWING THEM AS HAVING COME IN FIRST IN THE STATE ELECTIONS VARIOUS OF LEAD CANDIDATES OF THE GREEN PARTY, CEM OEZDEMIR, ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (German) LEAD CANDIDATE OF THE G
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- Keywords: Baden-Württemberg Germany state elections elections far-right state election voting
- Location: STUTTGART, GERMANY
- City: STUTTGART, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Europe,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001201008032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: In the state election in the southern German state Baden-Wuerttemberg initial forecasts make a continuation of the environmental Greens and Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives likely.
Forecasts on public broadcaster ARD showed the Greens in first place with 30.4% of the vote, followed by Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU) on 29.7% and the AfD on 18.6% as of seven o'clock on Sunday (1800 GMT).
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has made strong gains in recent years, came third, confirming its position as Germany's main opposition party, even outside its heartland in the former communist eastern states.
Merz's coalition partners in Berlin, the centre-left Social Democrats were on course for under 6% of the vote, confirming the precipitous drop in support seen in recent years but just scraping past the minimum threshold to enter state parliament.
(Production: Ayhan Uyanik, Christine Uyanik, Frank Simon, Tilman Blasshofer, Timm Reichert, Sebastian Fehrle, Anna Dittrich) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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