Summary

German state elections have savaged the ruling coalition’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its allies over the month of October.

First came a humbling result in Bavaria state elections on October 14. In that contest, the CDU’s sister party Christian Social Union (CSU) returned its worst results since 1950, losing 16 seats and taking 37% of the vote.

Then came last weekend’s state elections in the western state of Hesse, where it was the CDU’s turn to take a drubbing. Angela Merkel’s party saw its vote share drop sharply by 11% from 2013 totals, resulting in a loss of seven seats.

The CSU and CDU remain in power in Bavaria and Hesse respectively. However, the writing is on the wall for whoever wants to read it: a fundamental paradigm shift is unfolding in German politics.