Dresden, Germany – Conservative challenger Angela Merkel’s party gained a seat Sunday in the last remaining district in parliamentary balloting, boosting her chances of becoming Germany’s first female chancellor and giving the party extra momentum in coalition talks to form a new government.
Andreas Laemmel from Merkel’s Christian Democrats won the contest for a seat in Dresden with 37 percent of the vote, defeating Marlies Volkmer from Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s party, who had 32.1 percent.
While the outcome of the Dresden vote does not significantly alter the results of the Sept. 18 election, the strength of an extra seat in Parliament is expected to give the conservatives a psychological advantage heading into coalition talks, which have been stalled because both Merkel and Schroeder claim a mandate to be chancellor.
Roland Koch, the conservative governor of Hesse state, said the vote confirmed the Christian Democrats and their Bavaria- only sister party, the Christian Social Union, as the strongest bloc in Parliament, and said it should choose the chancellor.
“I see it as a step toward stability that we need to explain to the Social Democrats to stick to the rules,” Koch said before final results were announced. “I see it as a signal for Angela Merkel.”
