Berlin chooses change in rerun election with clear lead for conservatives

FILE PHOTO: A view shows an election poster from the Social Democratic Party (SPD) with top candidate Franziska Giffey for the upcoming repeat Berlin state elections in Berlin, Germany January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's conservative CDU party was course for a clear victory in a repeat election in Berlin, in a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats who have governed the city state for 22 years.

An exit poll by broadcaster ZDF on Sunday put the Christian Democrats (CDU) on 28% of the vote, 10 percentage points more than in the 2021 election, which a court was ruled invalid due to irregularities.