German voters reject austerity in key poll Angela Merkel's centre-right Christian Democratic Union suffered a bruising defeat on Sunday night in regional elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, when the centre-left opposition of Social Democrats and Greens won a clear majority. The vote for the CDU slumped to just 26 per cent from 35 per cent in 2010, according to the first exit polls. The result was by far its worst in the state in the post-war period. The outcome will be seen as a rejection by voters of the strict austerity policy promoted by the CDU at both local and national level, and a boost for the opposition. It will encourage the SPD and Greens to campaign all out for a "red-green" coalition at national level when Ms Merkel stands for re-election in autumn 2013. The outcome brought the immediate resignation of Norbert Röttgen, environment minister in Ms Merkel's government in Berlin, and leader of the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia. He described the result as a clear defeat for his party, but above all for himself, and for his choice of themes in the campaign. Mr Röttgen was previously regarded as a potential successor to Ms Merkel as CDU party leader, meaning Sunday's result will be seen as a dramatic defeat for one of the crown princes in the ruling party. The defeat is the worst suffered by Ms Merkel's CDU since the party lost control last year of the state of Baden-Württemberg in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. It also marks a big victory for Hannelore Kraft, the NRW state premier, who is seen as a rising star in the SPD, and could face new pressure to become a potential challenger to Ms Merkel at national level. She has always rejected such suggestions in the past, but she has proved to be the most successful election winner in the party in recent times.