Merkel Victory in Doubt after Left-wing Surge in Regional Elections
TIMES ONLINE: Germany’s lacklustre national election campaign was thrown open last night when left-wing parties made a surprise surge in two key regional states.

Early results from elections in Thuringia and Saarland showed that Chancellor Angela Merkel will face a much stronger opposition than expected in the general election. Political pundits had assumed that Ms Merkel would be a shoo-in on September 27 and that she was poised to rule Germany with a coalition of Christian Democrats and the small, pro-business Free Democrats.

But her Christian Democrat Party was hit hard by voters in what seemed to be a general protest against the conservative party identified with a tarnished financial and banking elite. Suddenly, the terms of this national election campaign have changed.

Ms Merkel remains the most popular politician in the country but it is now unclear with what coalition she intends to rule and how she will realise her dream of introducing a “progressive conservatism” to Germany.

“These results show that there is no support in the country for a coalition between Christian Democrats and Free Democrats,” said Frank Walter Steinmeier, leader of the centre-left Social Democrats, Ms Merkel’s main rivals. “It also shows what an unreliable indicator opinion polls have become. We will fight for outright victory on September 27.”

What seemed to be emerging last night was the prospect of a left-wing coalition governing in two important regional states. >>> Roger Boyes in Berlin | Monday, August 31, 2009

BNP's Shock Victory in Council Election Sparks Fears of Surge in Votes across Britain
MAIL Online: Fears over rising racial tension mounted last night after the British National Party scored a shock by-election victory.

The extremist party snatched a council seat in the Lincolnshire market town of Boston - where migrants make up a quarter of the population.

Anti-racism campaigners warned that the BNP surprise triumph would fuel 'scaremongering' about foreigners and lead to an increase in 'violence and threats'.

The town has a huge numbers of migrants, especially from Portugal and Poland, who take low-paid work on farms picking flowers, fruit and vegetables and in food processing plants.

Critics have accused the Government of failing to prepare cash-strapped councils for the influx of immigrants by giving them the resources to invest in public services.

This has left schools, health facilities and transport struggling to cope with greater numbers.

The resurgence of the BNP will also spark fears among the main political parties that the radical group could prosper at future by-elections in the run-up to the next General Election.

In a result which revived huge concerns, the far-right party won its first district council seat in Lincolnshire in the Fenside ward of Boston. >>> By Ian Drury | November 14, 2008

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Mitt Romney Wins Convincing Victory in Michigan
Photo of Mitt Romney courtesy of Google Images
YAHOO NEWS: DETROIT - Mitt Romney scored his first major primary victory Tuesday, a desperately needed win in his native Michigan that gave his weakened presidential candidacy new life. It set the stage for a wide-open Republican showdown in South Carolina in just four days.

Three GOP candidates now have won in the first four states to vote in the 2008 primary season, roiling a nomination fight that lacks a clear favorite as the race moves south for the first time.

The former Massachusetts governor defeated John McCain, the Arizona senator who was hoping that independents and Democrats would join Republicans to help him repeat his 2000 triumph here. Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, trailed in third, and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson is making a last stand in South Carolina.

"It's a victory of optimism over Washington-style pessimism," Romney said in an Associated Press telephone interview from Southfield, Mich., echoing his campaign speeches and taking a poke at McCain, the four-term senator he beat. "Now on to South Carolina, Nevada, Florida."

Minimizing the significance of Tuesday's vote, McCain said he had called Romney to congratulate him "that Michigan welcomed their native son with their support." Romney wins convincing Michigan victory >>> By Liz Sidoti and Glen Johnson

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)