Social Democrats with big losses in Lower Saxony and large gains in Hessen - Journal (english) 28.01.2008 TT 10:00 UTC

The political pundits here in Germany are trying to weigh the significance of the outcome of two key regional elections on Sunday. Many agree that a 12 percent loss for Angela Merkel's conservatives in the state of Hessen was quite a setback for the chancellor. At the same time though her Christian Democrats did consolidate their hold on the state of Lower Saxony. Mixed fortunes, too, for the other major party, the Social Democrats with big losses in Lower Saxony and large gains in Hessen, where their campaign was led by a woman who's emerging as a bright new hope for the Social Democrats.