German conservatives hail state election win in Berlin

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s main opposition party is celebrating its victory in a Berlin state election re-run made necessary by serious voting glitches in 2021. The party said Monday the result shows it can appeal to voters in urban areas with center-right policies that include tough talk on immigration. The center-right Christian Democratic Union of former Chancellor Angela Merkel has struggled for years with declining support in major cities and last governed the capital in 2001. On Sunday, the party received 28.2% of the vote, gaining 10 percentage points. The party’s main candidate, Kai Wegner, said he planned to hold talks with the center-left Social Democrats and the environmentalist Greens about swiftly forming a new coalition government.