DÜSSELDORF (dpa-AFX) – Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and CDU top candidate Hendrik Wüst has denied the SPD a government mandate. When asked on ZDF whether he was prepared for a possible advance by the SPD, Wüst said: “You have to accept such a result with respect and decency – that applies to all parties.” One must also recognize that the voters had spoken “a clear word”. According to Wüst, there is a “clear government mandate” for him and the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia.
According to the first projections by ARD and ZDF, the CDU with 35 percent was well ahead of the SPD with 27.9 and 27.5 percent respectively. According to the projections, the coalition of CDU and FDP no longer has a majority./aus/DP/he