They may yet have implications for own party's popularity. And she'll still have to deal with the troublesome Bavarians. The rebellious party leader, Horst Seehofer, is still in post and still her interior minister.<doc-sep>Angela Merkel has admitted her government shares responsibility for Sunday’s disastrous regional election result in Bavaria, blaming it partly on an erosion of confidence in politics on a national level. “A lot of trust has been lost,” the German chancellor said at a business conference on Monday, a day after her Bavarian allies in the Christian Social Union (CSU) were handed their worst result since 1954 in the prosperous southern state. She said the result had shown that even a thriving economy and high employment were not enough to win over voters. As a consequence, her biggest takeaway from Sunday’s trouncing was that she “must better ensure that this trust is there and also make the results of our work visible,” she said. Germany’s ruling parties were trying and ride out the fallout from the vote on Monday, despite calls for members of Angela Merkel’s government to resign over the debacle. The Social Democrats (SPD), the national coalition’s junior party, were also reeling after their vote halved, slumping into single figures for the first time in the state. The party came fifth on 9.5%, far behind the Greens and below the far-right AfD. The humiliating result for Merkel’s two partners is a serious blow for her shaky coalition, yet by Monday morning no heads had rolled despite calls from within the CSU for the party’s leader, Horst Seehofer, to resign. “I’m also not going to discuss my position today,” said a defiant Seehofer, speaking after a meeting of the CSU leadership which unanimously backed the Bavarian premier, Markus Söder, to continue in his position. Seehofer has been roundly blamed in the party for the result, which has been seen as punishment for sowing division within the coalition over migration policy. “A leadership debate cannot be avoided,” Peter Ramsauer, a former CSU deputy leader, told German media on Monday. He said the CSU had received a “disastrous result” that “shouldn’t be relativised”. Volker Ullrich, a CSU MP, told Der Spiegel: “We need a different style, language that connects and good governance. The attempt to gain support on the right [has] failed.” Calls for resignations also came from within Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). “It probably can’t work without personnel consequences,” the CDU premier of Schleswig-Holstein, Daniel Günther, told Die Welt. “However, I don’t think much of making individuals responsible. The entire CSU leadership has made mistakes in the past years … no one can be excluded.” Speaking after exit polls on Sunday night, Söder called it a “difficult day” for the CSU but said his party had a clear mandate to form a government. He is now expected to hurriedly form a coalition to govern the state with the centre-right Free Voters, excluding the Greens despite their record-high showing. All eyes will now turn to another regional vote, in Hesse at the end of the month, where both the CDU and SPD are languishing in the polls. The coalition partners will hope they can delay the final reckoning for the Bavarian disaster until then, giving them just under a fortnight to turn their fortunes around.<doc-sep>EU is 'punishing' Britain in Brexit negotiation says Matteo Salvini top stories direct to your inbox SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up to receive our rundown of the day'sdirect to your inbox When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative allies in Bavaria have had their worst election performance for more than 60 years securing just 37.3 percent of the vote in a huge blow to her fragile three-party coalition government. In a scathing tweet, Italian deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini claimed the electoral blow to Mrs Merkel's government showed “the old system had lost” and praised electoral gains by anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany. Mr Salvini said: "In Bavaria change has won and the European Union, the old system that has always been poor in Brussels, has lost. This was a historical defeat for Christian Democrats and Socialists, while for the first time many of the AFD friends are entering the Regional Parliament. "Goodbye Merkel, Schultz and Juncker.” Ms Merkel’s conservative allies in Bavaria have had their worst election performance for more than 60 years sparking calls for “something to change” from her Social Democrats coalition partner and claims of an “end of an era” for the leader. The Christian Social Union (CSU) secured just 37.3 percent of the vote, which is expected to deal a blow to her fragile three-party coalition government. The results reveal that the Greens have won 17.8 percent of the vote and the Conservative Free Voters have won 11 percent of the vote. The Social Democrats (SPD) leader Andrea Nahles said that the “poor performance” of the federal government in Berlin was one of the reasons for her party’s weak showing in Bavaria. EU news: Matteo Salvini said the Bavarian election results meant that the She said: “It’s clear that something has to change”. This comment is especially devastating to Chancellor Merkel as she only managed to secure a fourth term in power after the SPD backed a coalition deal earlier this year. Prior to their agreement of a coalition, there had been six months of uncertainty and Germany had been without a government for the longest time in its postwar history. The SPD won nine percent of the vote in the elections. For the second time this year, Merkel’s party will be scrambling for coalition allies, either the Conservative Free voters or the Greens. Chancellor Merkel angered many voters in Germany for her immigration policies, which has seen more than a million people enter the country since 2015. The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) won 11 percent of the vote and has now entered the 15th of Germany’s 16 state assemblies. President of the Atlantic Council think tank Fred Kempe said: “The political earthquake was in Bavaria, but the aftershocks will be felt in Berlin. Matteo Salvini and Marine Le Pen reveal ‘alternative Europe’ plans In Bavaria change has won and the European Union has lost Matteo Salvini<doc-sep>
Angela Merkel's allies suffer heavy loss in Bavaria election While the traditional Oktoberfest continues as usual with beer, lederhosen and German music into the early hours, the political agenda in Germany’s southern state of Bavaria has rapidly changed. The Christian Social Union (CSU) lost their absolute majority in the south German parliament for only the second time since 1962. In the regional elections in Bavaria on October 14, voters delivered a crushing blow to Angela Merkel’s coalition partner. Previously the party has ruled Bavaria with over 50 percent of the total votes in the region for decades. The CSU saw its support plummet to a historic low of 37.2 percent in this year’s regional election. This is a loss of more than ten percent from the last elections in 2013. And the poor election result from the regional election does not only have consequences for CSU itself. Bavaria’s CSU is the sister party to Mrs Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU). German Bavaria election results: Angela Merkel will feel the impact of the Bavarian election Fred Kempe, president of the Atlantic Council think-tank, said: "The political earthquake was in Bavaria, but the aftershocks will be felt in Berlin. "Talk will increase ever more about the end of the Merkel era.” The leader of CSU Horst Seehofer and Chancellor Merkel have been in a bitter disagreement over German immigration policies since the beginning of 2018. More than one million migrants entered Germany in 2015 thanks to Merkel's “open door policy”. German Bavaria election: Voters delivered a crushing blow to Merkel's coalition partners If the CSU and CDU stay on Mrs Merkel’s liberal, centrist course or return to more traditional, right-wing positions is yet to be seen, but after last night’s result it’s not looking bright for the chancellor. According to Germany's expert and associate professor at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Anette Homlong Storeide, poor election results for Mr Seehofer will also have an impact on Merkel. She said: “If Merkel's coalition party receives few votes in Bavaria, it reflects badly on the chancellor too. “Such a result, in combination with the conflicts that have existed between party leader Mr Seehofer and Mrs Merkel, may weaken the entire Christian Democratic political project in Germany.” German Bavaria election results: Horst Seehofer saw his support plummet this election