ANDRIA HALL, CNN ANCHOR: It appears the party that ruled Western Germany for the better part of the past 50 years is in deep trouble with German voters. CNN's Richard Blystone has that.</s>RICHARD BLYSTONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The scandal that sent ex-Chancellor Helmut Kohl and party leader Wolfgang Schaeuble down in disgrace has duly taken its toll of those who would lead the Christian Democrats' younger generation out of the wilderness. Before the scandal, Volker Ruehe, an ex-defense minister, was looking like an easy winner of the governorship. At that time, the Social Democrat-Green Coalition, which took over the government a year before, was suffering badly at the polls. But when the stories of slush funds, illegal donations and secret Swiss bank accounts hit the news, Ruehe watched a dozen-point lead drain away. And although he is so far untainted by scandal himself, Ruehe's CDU managed only around 35 percent of Sunday's vote, eight points short of the Social Democrats. That was a little better than opinion polls had predicted, and Ruehe himself vowed to fight on. The party's general secretary, Angela Merkel, said it was a good result under the circumstances, and Ruehe's national role is far from over. This spring, the party's expected to decide between the two of them -- Ruehe slightly to the right and Merkel slightly to the left -- for a leader to try to win back the broad spectrum of centrists and conservatives the CDU once had. But in Schleswig-Holstein state, anyway, the political scene is set for the next four years. (on camera): The CDU says with some justice that it's comeback is vital for balance and stability in German politics. Its trouble is that the scandal is not yet over. The tarnished leaders have not come clean, and fresh evidence emerges every day. Richard Blystone, CNN, Berlin.
Corruption Allegations Cost Germany's CDU Party at Polls