Germany's conservatives savoured their victory in a key regional election on Sunday, bolstering their hopes of staying in power when Chancellor Angela Merkel steps down after 16 years in office.
Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) turned back a challenge from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The election was seen as a test for CDU leader Armin Laschet, who hopes to succeed her as chancellor after September’s general election.
“This is essentially a sensationally good result,” CDU general secretary Paul Ziemiak said.
Ralph Brinkhaus, who heads the party’s parliamentary group, said Sunday’s result “gives us a tailwind” for the federal election.
“That is also a success for Armin Laschet,” he said.
Mr Laschet took over a party at a low ebb when he emerged as the winner of a tense internal stand-off with Markus Soeder, a Bavarian rival who some perceived as the more charismatic choice.
The CDU is the bulwark against extremism
While his would-be predecessor Mrs Merkel is Germany’s most popular politician, Mr Laschet polled poorly and leading CDU figures in Saxony-Anhalt opposed his nomination.
Public frustration over Germany's prolonged lockdown, as well as a corruption scandal involving Covid mask contracts, contributed to stinging defeats for the CDU in two regional elections in March.
But the CDU’s ratings have picked up since then as Germany’s vaccination programme gathers pace and lockdown restrictions are eased.
The CDU took 37.1 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s election, up more than seven points since 2016. AfD was down on 20.8 per cent.
Polls had suggested a closer race between the two parties, with one survey last month even showing AfD in the lead.
"It’s as good as it gets for the CDU," said Prof John Ryan, a Network Research Fellow at CESifo in Munich.
“This is such a big margin of victory for the CDU that it really questions the methodology of some of the pollsters or whether the electorate misled them."
'Bulwark against extremism'
Saxony-Anhalt is part of the former East Germany, a stronghold of the far right where many voters say they still feel like second-class citizens more than 30 years after German reunification.
An AfD victory would have been its first in a state parliament and led to complex political manoeuvring to try to keep them out of power.
But the anti-immigrant, anti-Islam party failed to make gains after vocally opposing lockdown measures.
“The CDU is the bulwark against extremism,” Mr Laschet declared on Monday.
"The election shows that our clear line against AfD is not just right but people support it, and we will pursue this centrist course."
It means the CDU is sure to stay in power in the state and will have a choice of potential coalition partners.
Popular CDU state premier Reiner Haseloff has governed with the Greens and Social Democrats since 2016.
"What the [recent] three elections show is that regional leaders and personalities matter," Prof Ryan said.
Disappointment for Germany’s Greens
It was a disappointing night for the Greens, who are seen as the CDU’s main rivals for power in the general election.
The party won 5.9 per cent of the vote, up less than one percentage point – a far cry from the spectacular gains it hopes for in September.
“Since yesterday, it is definitely not the case that the Greens will carry on rising without any problems,” Mr Soeder said.
The Greens are typically weaker in the east of Germany, which is more reliant on the carbon-intensive industries that the party wants to phase out.
Green chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock suggested that the CDU's success was down to voters seeking to prevent an AfD victory.
Many people had voted for the CDU because they “did not want right-wing extremists in the government,” she said.
But she acknowledged that the Greens’ showing was poorer than hoped. “Sure, we’d like to have done better,” she said.
The Left Party came third in Saxony-Anhalt but dropped to 11.0 per cent, while the Social Democrats fell to 8.4 per cent.
The pro-business Free Democrats scored 6.4 per cent and re-entered the regional parliament after failing to meet a 5 per cent threshold last time out.
"There’s a lot of competition on the left and the CDU was really in the centre," Prof Ryan said.
"I think it was a comfort blanket, it was CDU against AfD and the voters went with the CDU."
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGrowdash%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJuly%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESean%20Trevaskis%20and%20Enver%20Sorkun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERestaurant%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24750%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Plus%20VC%2C%20Judah%20VC%2C%20TPN%20Investments%20and%20angel%20investors%2C%20including%20former%20Talabat%20chief%20executive%20Abdulhamid%20Alomar%2C%20and%20entrepreneur%20Zeid%20Husban%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh1,050,000
On sale: now
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Rally schedule:
Saturday: Super Special Spectator Stage – Yas Marina Circuit – start 3.30pm.
Sunday: Yas Marina Circuit Stage 1 (276.01km)
Monday: Nissan Stage 2 (287.92km)
Tuesday: Al Ain Water Stage 3 (281.38km)
Wednesday: ADNOC Stage 4 (244.49km)
Thursday: Abu Dhabi Aviation Stage 5 (218.57km) Finish: Yas Marina Circuit – 4.30pm.
'Champions'
Director: Manuel Calvo
Stars: Yassir Al Saggaf and Fatima Al Banawi
Rating: 2/5
Janet Yellen's Firsts
- In 2014, she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve
- In 1999, she became the first female chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers
Race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
More coverage from the Future Forum
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees
Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme
Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks
Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Sri Lanka World Cup squad
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
PSL FINAL
Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
8pm, Thursday
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
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