Angela Merkel’s party loses two out of three states

German chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives lost out in two out of three regional state elections yesterday as Germans gave a thumbs down to her accommodating refugee policy with a big vote for the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The poor showing in both Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate represented a worst-case scenario for Merkel, who has staked her legacy on her decision last year to open Germany’s doors to over one million migrants.

The backlash was also visible in Saxony-Anhalt in former East Germany, where Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) remained the largest party but the AfD grabbed 21.5%.