Merkel coalition suffers Berlin poll rout

Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition suffered a painful blow in a regional election in Berlin Sunday, early results showed, amid voter anger over the German leader's handling of the eurozone debt crisis. Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) were beaten into second place in the poll, albeit with a slight rise in support compared to previous elections in 2006. But the junior partner in her fractious coalition, the Free Democrats (FDP), saw its electoral support plummeting again. It failed by a wide margin to clear the five-percent hurdle needed in Germany for representation in parliament. Berlin's popular and colourful Social Democrat mayor, Klaus Wowereit, secured 28.3 percent of the vote, according to early provisional results, meaning he must now choose a coalition partner. He is thereby assured a third mandate, after ten years in the job. Living up to his image as a party animal, Wowereit jumped around the stage in front of his supporters after the results were made public, clapping his hands to thumping pop music. "Let me just say this: I've seen the other election parties on television and ours is definitely the best," he shouted to thunderous applause. Merkel's CDU won 23.4 percent, a gain in comparison to the 21.3 percent they gained five years ago in the left-leaning German capital. The ecologist Green party, which has seen its popularity gain steadily since Japan's Fukushima catastrophe in March due to their anti-nuclear stance, clinched 17.6 percent. A major success story of the election was the spectacular rise of the Pirate Party, which secured its first-ever parliamentary representation in one of Germany's 16 states, winning 8.9 percent of the vote. An irreverent outfit with roots in Scandinavia, the Pirate Party calls for free wireless Internet service for all, unlimited access to public transportation funded by taxes and better data protection. But the big losers of the election were once again the Liberal FDP, which was ejected from the parliament with a mere 1.8 percent. This followed a humiliation two weeks ago in Merkel's home state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where they were beaten handily by the neo-Nazi NPD party. "Yet another election debacle for the FDP," commented the country's most-read daily, Bild, while Stern magazine described the result as an "apocalypse" for the pro-business party. "This is a low point and a wake-up call," the party's general secretary Christian Lindner told disconsolate supporters. "We knew the elections this year would be difficult ... that has been confirmed in dramatic fashion," he added. The debacle followed another week of bickering between Merkel and her partners after Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Philipp Roesler evoked a default for debt-wracked Greece, sending markets into a tailspin. The chancellor, named the most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine last month, has failed to rein in unruly FDP members who have threatened to torpedo a key parliamentary vote on the crisis later this month. The eurozone and its woes played a part in the Berlin election, with the FDP's candidate Christoph Meyer drawing applause on the campaign trail by openly railing against Merkel's euro policy. Meanwhile the Social Democrats, the biggest opposition party at the national level, hope the Berlin vote can give it another boost on the road to the 2013 general election. The 57-year-old hugely popular Wowereit has run a smooth, gaffe-free campaign for a third term in Berlin. Currently in a coalition with the far-left Linke party, he may opt this time for a tie-up with the Greens. Backers say Wowereit has helped turn Berlin's weaknesses into strengths, famously calling the cash-strapped capital "poor but sexy" for attracting hordes of tourists and creative types to one of Europe's most affordable cities. But with a 13-percent jobless rate -- nearly double the national average -- and a staggering 62-billion-euro ($86-billion) mountain of debt more than two decades after the Berlin Wall fell, critics say the city needs a major economic overhaul. He was tight-lipped when asked which would be his preferred coalition partner. "We will next week negotiate with the parties with whom it is mathematically possible," he told ZDF television.