Berlin:
Voters in Germany's most populous state dealt Chancellor Angela Merkel a painful setback on Sunday, erasing her government's majority in the upper house of parliament and curbing its power after a stumbling start and criticism over the Greek debt crisis.
Merkel's centre-right alliance was voted out of power in a state election in North Rhine-Westphalia, a region of some 18 (m) million people that includes Cologne and the industrial Ruhr area. It was the first electoral test since she started her second term in October.
Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) won around 34.5 per cent of Sunday's vote - more than 10 points fewer than five years ago - and the Free Democrats around 6.5 per cent, according to projections by ARD television based on results from more than 110 of the 128 districts.
The coalition, whose makeup mirrors that of the national government, finished well short of a majority in the state legislature.
The main opposition Social Democrats finished with 34.5 per cent and the Greens around 12.5 per cent, the projections showed. A hard-left rival, the Left Party, won more than 5 per cent.
It wasn't immediately clear who would run North Rhine-Westphalia and whether conservative Juergen Ruettgers could cling onto the governor's office in Duesseldorf.
The Social Democrats (SDP) hoped to run the state with the Greens, but it wasn't clear whether they had won enough seats together.
However SPD challenger Hannelore Kraft was still in a celebratory mood on Sunday.
"Today is a good day for North-Rhine Westphalia," she told her jubilant supporters in Duesseldorf. For his part Ruettgers said he would "personally bear the political responsibility for this result."
The same CDU and FDP coalition currently leads the federal government too.
"This is of course a warning shot for the governing parties, and the people should know that it has been heard," said Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, and Free Democrat leader.
Merkel will likely have a harder time running Germany - Europe's biggest economy - without a majority in the upper house, which represents Germany's 16 states and must approve major legislation.
She will have to negotiate with the opposition - diminishing prospects of tax cuts intended to stimulate the economy and significant reform to the health-insurance system, both projects dear to the Free Democrats.
Merkel's federal government currently controls 37 of the 69 upper-house votes, including six from North Rhine-Westphalia.
Its support has slid following a poor start, constant squabbling over policy and the challenge from the Greek crisis.
A senior Merkel aide said Sunday's setback had many causes - among them local problems and "too much unnecessary arguing on the public stage."
The Christian Democrats' general secretary, Hermann Groehe, also pointed to "the general uncertainty, people's concerns with a view to the stability of the euro, the situation in Greece."
Merkel initially held out on agreeing to aid for cash-strapped Athens, prompting German opposition parties to accuse her of avoiding an unpopular decision in the election run-up.
On Friday, however, parliament approved a bill allowing Germany to grant as much as 22.4 (b) billion euro (28.6 (b) billion US dollars) in credit over three years as part of a wider rescue plan.
A bigger problem with voters may have been the government's stumbling start at home.
Freed last year from a "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats in which she shone as a consensus-builder, Merkel then became distracted down with internal divisions - notably about the wisdom of making big tax cuts soon.
The chancellor may soon return to consensus-building without an upper-house majority - a frequent situation in Germany, which Merkel experienced in her first term.
Opposition parties oppose tax cuts and plans such as extending nuclear power stations' lives.
The SPD had been hoping to win back a traditional heartland after the heavy national election defeat in September.
They led North Rhine-Westphalia for nearly four decades until losing it in 2005 amid discontent over then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's efforts to trim the welfare state.
Merkel's centre-right alliance was voted out of power in a state election in North Rhine-Westphalia, a region of some 18 (m) million people that includes Cologne and the industrial Ruhr area. It was the first electoral test since she started her second term in October.
Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) won around 34.5 per cent of Sunday's vote - more than 10 points fewer than five years ago - and the Free Democrats around 6.5 per cent, according to projections by ARD television based on results from more than 110 of the 128 districts.
The coalition, whose makeup mirrors that of the national government, finished well short of a majority in the state legislature.
The main opposition Social Democrats finished with 34.5 per cent and the Greens around 12.5 per cent, the projections showed. A hard-left rival, the Left Party, won more than 5 per cent.
It wasn't immediately clear who would run North Rhine-Westphalia and whether conservative Juergen Ruettgers could cling onto the governor's office in Duesseldorf.
The Social Democrats (SDP) hoped to run the state with the Greens, but it wasn't clear whether they had won enough seats together.
However SPD challenger Hannelore Kraft was still in a celebratory mood on Sunday.
"Today is a good day for North-Rhine Westphalia," she told her jubilant supporters in Duesseldorf. For his part Ruettgers said he would "personally bear the political responsibility for this result."
The same CDU and FDP coalition currently leads the federal government too.
"This is of course a warning shot for the governing parties, and the people should know that it has been heard," said Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, and Free Democrat leader.
Merkel will likely have a harder time running Germany - Europe's biggest economy - without a majority in the upper house, which represents Germany's 16 states and must approve major legislation.
She will have to negotiate with the opposition - diminishing prospects of tax cuts intended to stimulate the economy and significant reform to the health-insurance system, both projects dear to the Free Democrats.
Merkel's federal government currently controls 37 of the 69 upper-house votes, including six from North Rhine-Westphalia.
Its support has slid following a poor start, constant squabbling over policy and the challenge from the Greek crisis.
A senior Merkel aide said Sunday's setback had many causes - among them local problems and "too much unnecessary arguing on the public stage."
The Christian Democrats' general secretary, Hermann Groehe, also pointed to "the general uncertainty, people's concerns with a view to the stability of the euro, the situation in Greece."
Merkel initially held out on agreeing to aid for cash-strapped Athens, prompting German opposition parties to accuse her of avoiding an unpopular decision in the election run-up.
On Friday, however, parliament approved a bill allowing Germany to grant as much as 22.4 (b) billion euro (28.6 (b) billion US dollars) in credit over three years as part of a wider rescue plan.
A bigger problem with voters may have been the government's stumbling start at home.
Freed last year from a "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats in which she shone as a consensus-builder, Merkel then became distracted down with internal divisions - notably about the wisdom of making big tax cuts soon.
The chancellor may soon return to consensus-building without an upper-house majority - a frequent situation in Germany, which Merkel experienced in her first term.
Opposition parties oppose tax cuts and plans such as extending nuclear power stations' lives.
The SPD had been hoping to win back a traditional heartland after the heavy national election defeat in September.
They led North Rhine-Westphalia for nearly four decades until losing it in 2005 amid discontent over then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's efforts to trim the welfare state.
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