BERLIN (AP) — Two German state election defeats have jolted Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bloc, shining a spotlight on chances of it being ejected from the government in September’s national vote. A possible contender to succeed Merkel said Monday that the center-right needs to raise its game to keep the country’s top job. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union was handily defeated Sunday by two popular state governors: the Green party’s Winfried Kretschmann in Baden-Wuerttemberg and the center-left Social Democrats’ Malu Dreyer in Rhineland-Palatinate. The CDU always faced a challenging battle against the incumbents, but the results were painful.
