Exit polls: Berlin's Social Democrats to win again

Sep 18, 2011, 16:10 GMT

Berlin - Exit polls indicated Sunday that Berlin's Social Democratic (SPD) mayor Klaus Wowereit had won a new term in office, while the elections, in one of Germany's 16 federal states, dealt a further blow to the federal centre-right ruling coalition.

As voting ended at 6 pm (1600 GMT), surveys conducted at polling stations indicated that the SPD had won around 29.5 per cent, followed by federal Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), with 23.5 per cent.

The Free Democrats (FDP), Merkel's junior government partner, suffered a bitter defeat with an estimated 2 per cent of the vote, knocking them out of Berlin's regional parliament - the fifth state in which this has happened in 2011.

This result is likely to increase pressure on Merkel's coalition between the CDU and FDP, which has been marred by infighting - resulting most recently in a public spat between Merkel and FDP leader and German Economics Minister Philip Roesler, who has taken a hardline stance against eurozone bailouts.

The Green Party failed to achieve their aim of unseating Wowereit. Despite an increase in popularity, their anticipated 18 per cent of the vote even cast doubt on their more modest hopes of ruling with the SPD, who were also eyeing up a coalition with the CDU.

The real winners of the night were the Pirate Party, a young party standing on a civil liberty platform, who received an estimated 8.5 per cent, enabling them to enter a German state parliament for the first time.

The Left Party, who are traditionally strong in eastern Germany and have ruled Berlin with the SPD for the last five years, dropped to an estimated 11.5 per cent, making it unlikely for them to resume a left-left coalition.

Key issues in debt-ridden Berlin include soaring unemployment, poor services such as education and public transport, as well as an influx of tourists and foreign investors driving up rents, in a city still dealing with the aftermath of unification, 20 years on.

Berlin's roughly 2.47 million voters do not necessarily reflect national sentiment, and the election was fought predominantly over local issues, rather than national ones.