Scholz’s center-left party heads for big win in German state
By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press
BERLIN (AP) — Projects show that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats are headed for a clear election win in a western state that their conservative rivals have led since 1999. Sunday’s election was the first test at the ballot box since Scholz’s national government took office in December. Social Democrat Anke Rehlinger was on course to become the new governor of Saarland, a region on the French border that is one of Germany’s smallest states, with nearly 1 million people. Projections showed the Social Democrats far ahead of the center-right Christian Democratic Union party of former Chancellor Angela Merkel.