Volkswagen Avoids Effort to Beef Up Oversight in German State Election
If confirmed by official tallies, the result would be a blow to Ms. Merkel, who had visited Lower Saxony several times to campaign
and is now negotiating to form a government in Berlin after her party’s poor performance in elections last month.
The state of Lower Saxony owns a 20 percent stake in Volkswagen, and the party in power has a strong say over company strategy.
The Christian Democrats in Lower Saxony began the election campaign with a substantial lead
but may have been hurt by Ms. Merkel’s performance in the national elections last month.
15, 2017
FRANKFURT — Germany’s largest opposition party appeared likely to retain power in an important state election on Sunday
that could sway the balance of power in Berlin and stymie efforts to strengthen oversight at Volkswagen, which dominates the region’s economy.
Radical parties on the right and left, which have drained support from mainstream parties at the national level, did poorly in Lower Saxony on Sunday.
Lower Saxony’s Christian Democrats, led by Bernd Althusmann, promised to take a more professional approach to Volkswagen, creating a dedicated staff in the prime minister’s office
that would help manage the state’s stake and provide better oversight.