(AP) Germany's Merkel acknowledges "bitter defeat"
By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press Writer
BERLIN
Acknowledging a "bitter defeat" in a state election, German Chancellor Angela Merkel abandoned hopes Monday of pushing through tax cuts for Europe's biggest economy and said her government would concentrate on keeping Germany's debt down.
Merkel's center-right coalition lost control of Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, in an election Sunday that also erased its majority in the upper house of parliament - making the country harder to run.
"There's no talking around it - we suffered a bitter defeat," Merkel told reporters.
The defeat followed a stumbling start for Merkel's new national coalition government, which took power in October. It has squabbled constantly over the wisdom of cutting taxes to stimulate the economy and faced sharp criticism for its handling of the Greek debt crisis.
"Many arguments were avoidable," Merkel said of her government's first few months.
"The ... coalition in Berlin must now set its priorities clearly," she said. "That means, from my point of view, firstly that tax cuts cannot be implemented for the foreseeable future - discussions about the euro, about (loan) guarantees and a lot of other things show us that."
"Consolidating the budget will become the priority," she said.
Merkel said tax cuts likely wouldn't be possible for at least the next two years.
Early and big tax cuts were a pet project of her junior coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democrats. However, they are opposed by opposition parties, which will now be able to block legislation in the upper house.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier of the opposition Social Democrats told n-tv television on Monday that Merkel should learn from the defeat in North Rhine-Westphalia. He said Merkel's government will no longer be able to simply push through its plans.
The upper house represents states and must approve much major legislation.
Sunday's vote was the first electoral test for Merkel since she and her new national government took office. |
