#Merkel’s Allies Hit With Worst Election Showing Since 1950…

A twin blow to Merkel’s rule: CSU battered & junior coalition partner SPD dropped into single-digit territory in #Bavaria for the first time since WWII. SPD now under grassroots pressure to end coalition as some members say it's eroding popular support: https://t.co/VLP10nJWmI

This month’s elections in Bavaria and Hessen will certainly have an impact on national politics and on the reputation of the chancellor, Wolfgang Schäuble, the CDU speaker of parliament, said this week. “They could bring big changes.” https://t.co/VLP10nJWmI

The election showed that the CSU’s strategy of confronting #Merkel because of her immigration policy had failed to stop the ascent of the AfD, even though the party scored below its national average in opinion polls. AfD now in 15 of 16 state parliaments. https://t.co/VLP10nJWmI

The CSU's harsher anti-immigration rhetoric and internal quarrels pushed many voters to the Greens. This could embolden Merkel allies who say Green surge is evidence that the CDUCSU future lies in her centrist brand of conservatism. https://t.co/VLP10nJWmI

SPD's loss will strain Merkel’s coalition. Many in SPD would prefer opposition and move to the left. The party reached an all-time low of 15% in national polls last week. “Continuing as before is not an option!,” Ralf Stegener, SPD vice chairman, tweeted. https://t.co/VLP10nJWmI

Over 71% of Bavarian voters believe "Angela Merkel's time is up" according to an ARD poll. And center and far right parties (CSU, AfD, FW, FDP) increased their collective vote to 64% according to preliminary results. No left turn at all. https://t.co/VLP10o1xeg

Voter movement according to preliminary results: CSU lost equal amounts of voters to AfD and Greens - 180k - but won 100k from SPD.

The bottom line: polarisation has read reached #Bavaria, Germany’s economic powerhouse, and the system in the once homogenous state is becoming as fragmented as elsewhere. A spectre is haunting Europe - the spectre of fragmentation https://t.co/VLP10nJWmI

The Greens are the only party really partying after #Bavaria election. But even as they are urbane types, their party 🎉 is über Bavarian

And here is why the SPD is now torn by internal pressure to end the Grand Coalition with Merkel’s bloc. They are becoming extinct- losing votes to all and any competitor

Or as @Bild succinctly puts it: the Grand Coalition is a grave. Die GroKo ist ein Grab https://t.co/lHxtzpdDeH

For the first time since 2015, #Bavaria’s AfD has lost votes in absolute terms, while elsewhere they keep growing. Pollsters day this is because they face here unique competition - the Freie Wähler.