Other Peoples' Politics

German edition:

The environmentalist Greens meanwhile took 25% of the vote, ahead of the 23.5% secured by the Social Democrats. The results mean that the center-left parties can now form a coalition, with the Greens set to name the governor in a German state for the first time.

That the upset should happen in Baden-Wuerttemberg, a wealthy region along Germany's border with France and Switzerland home to luxury car makers Daimler AG (DDAIY) and Porsche SE (POAHY), is doubly embarrassing for Merkel and her party. CDU rule in the state was unchallenged in the post-war era until this election cycle, when creeping voter fatigue with such a protracted political order was magnified by vociferous protests against plans to redevelop Stuttgart's central train station that drew the attention of the nation.