Conservative win in Saxony-Anhalt seen as last big test ahead of national election in September
Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) fought off a challenge from the far right in a state election on Sunday that was seen as the last big test for Germany’s political parties before a national vote in September that will end the chancellor’s 16 years atop German politics.
In exit polls the CDU, whose current leader, Armin Laschet, will vie for the top job in September, improved on its 2017 performance to gain 36% of the vote in the eastern state – a result the state premier, Reiner Haseloff, said symbolised “a clear demarcation against the far right”.
