Merkel unhappy with outcome of German state election

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends the opening ceremony of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, September 4, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said she was "very unhappy" with the outcome of the election result in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Merkel also acknowledged some responsibility for the poor performance of her party during the election, German news television N-TV reported.

As chancellor and party leader, "I am also responsible," she was quoted as saying in a statement on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in China's Hangzhou.

Federal policy issues, particularly the refugee policy, had overridden everything else there, said the Chancellor. Therefore, Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) can "not harvest" the fruits of their good work in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

At the same time she defended her policy by saying "I think the fundamental decisions, as we have made it so far, are right."

According to Merkel, many people do not have enough confidence in Merkel's Union party to address the difficult issues. The Union party is a bloc of CDU and its Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU).It was now important to regain that trust, she said.

In the state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on Sunday, the CDU had only become the third strongest political force, achieving the worst result in their history in the state. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) won the election, while Germany's anti-migration party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in second.