Merkel allies hold far right at bay in last German state vote before election

Germany’s Christian Democratic Union party chairman Armin Laschet (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Final results confirmed a larger-than-expected win for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party in the last German state election before a national vote in September.

The outcome offers a boost to Mrs Merkel’s would-be successor on the centre-right, though it was first and foremost a triumph for the popular state governor.