Social Democrats top Berlin elections

Germany's Social Democrats and their mayor Klaus Wowereit won Sunday's elections to the Berlin city parliament with 28.3 percent of the vote. The results have secured Wowereit a third five-year term in office. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) gained just 23.4 percent, which is seen as a poor result for the regional elections. Her party, widely criticized for handling the euro zone crisis, has lost elections in six states, including Berlin, this year. The Greens scored an impressive 17 percent of the vote, and the Left won 11.7 percent. The Social Democrats are likely to unite with either the Greens or the Left to gain a majority over the CDU. The Pirates, an international youth party, crossed the 5 percent margin for the first time to make it into the regional parliament with 8.9 percent. The parties will now negotiate coalitions with potential partners. The Berlin parliament consists of at least 130 deputies. The current legislature has 149. Turnout at the elections was 60.2 percent.