German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s Social Democrats suffered heavy losses in two state elections on Sunday, losing power in his home state of Lower Saxony, first exit polls by television stations showed. A poll by the Electoral Research Group for ZDF television gave the centre-left SPD 34 per cent in Lower Saxony, down from 47.9 per cent in the last state election in 1998. The conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) won 47 per cent, up from 35.9 per cent, signalling the end of 13 years of SPD rule in the northern state. The poll showed the CDU had held on to power in the central state of Hesse with an increased majority, scoring 50 per cent, up from 43.4 per cent in the last state election in 1999. The SPD fell to 29.5 per cent from 39.4 per cent, the poll showed. The results were broadly similar to a poll by the Infratest Institute broadcast on ARD television. The exit polls confirmed an expected rout for the SPD, whose popularity has slumped since Schroeder was re-elected last September. Public anger over his handling of the stagnant economy eclipsed support for his opposition to an Iraq war. Schroeder has ruled out stepping down after a rout but his position in the party is set to be weakened. Also, losing Lower Saxony will give the CDU a greater a say in lawmaking by increasing its majority in the Bundesrat or the Upper House of Parliament.
