Germany’s SPD calls crisis meeting to review coalition strategy after vote rout

Germany’s Social Democrats called a crisis meeting for next week to discuss strategy after the SPD suffered a double humiliation on Sunday, Reuters reported.

Defeated in a regional vote in the northern state of Bremen for the first time in 73 years, the Social Democrats also saw their share of the vote slide more than 11 points to 15.8 percent in EU parliamentary elections, behind the Greens.

SPD leader Andrea Nahles announced a retreat on June 3 where senior party members would discuss electoral strategy and how to stand out from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives on issues such as climate change and social policies, including pensions.