Incumbents hold power in German state votes: TV polls
Posted on: Sunday, 26 March 2006, 11:07 CST
BERLIN (Reuters) - German conservatives and Social Democrats looked to have held on to power in three state elections on Sunday, preserving a regional balance crucial for the stability of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition in Berlin.
Television exit polls showed Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) won the most votes in the wealthy southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg and poorer eastern region of Saxony-Anhalt.
The Social Democrats (SPD) were ahead in Rhineland-Palatinate, the last big western state where they rule, and may have enough support there to govern without their Free Democrat (FDP) coalition partners.
Merkel came into office in November as head of a Germany's first "grand coalition" of the conservatives and center-left SPD since the 1960s. A conservative sweep in the elections might have upset the fragile balance of her federal partnership.
With the votes out of the way, pressure is expected to build on Merkel to deliver reforms of the health insurance system and labor market. Her first months in office have focused largely on foreign policy, including repairing ties with the United States.
Source: REUTERS
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