Merkel strengthens her grip on Germany

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s left-right government strengthened its grip on German politics with victories for the two ruling parties in three state elections and bad results for what remains of the opposition.

In the first electoral test since she took office in November, Merkel’s Christian Democrats won in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony-Anhalt states, preliminary results from yesterday’s election showed, while the Social Democrats were dominant in Rhineland-Palatinate.