2023-10-08 01:05:20
The three parties of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left coalition suffered a severe defeat on Sunday October 8 during elections in two large regions, strongholds of the conservatives, which also show a strong surge from the far right.
According to the latest projections, the Social Democrats (SPD) of Olaf Scholz, the Greens and the liberals of the FDP are retreating both in Bavaria (South), the richest German state, and in Hesse (West) where Frankfurt is located , the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB).
The government sanctioned
For the FDP, the result is clear: the party did not reach the 5% necessary to remain in the Bavarian Parliament, and could also be ejected in Hesse.
Mid-term, the government of Olaf Scholz was thus sanctioned in elections where the population’s concern over the industrial crisis experienced by Europe’s largest economy and the resurgence of the migration issue played a central role.
The weekly The mirror described the verdict of the polls as “disastrous” for the coalition. “The loss of support is so obvious” that the government “will be forced to review its current course”, he judges.
The leader of the SPD, Lars Klingbeil, agreed with this, seeing in defeat “a signal to the three parties” of the government, to encourage them “to be resolved more quickly” the problems of the Germans.
Two prosperous states
Another lesson from these elections won handily, as expected, by the conservatives: the far-right AfD party should take second place in these two Länder, which embody a prosperous Germany.
“We can no longer say that (l’AfD) is a party exclusively strong in the east » of the country, where the regions of the former GDR are located, often economically disadvantaged, points out the newspaper Southgerman newspaper.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel interpreted the results as ” a punishment “ for the government and “a vote for change”.
An anti-immigration party
This anti-immigration party, which also criticizes climate protection measures assimilated to high prices and constraints, has thus confirmed its surge in the polls at the national level where it currently collects between 20 and 22% of voting intentions, behind the right.
He took advantage of the fact that the campaign largely focused on criticism of the coalition in power since December 2021, undermined by incessant quarrels.
Fears of a new migration crisis, like that of 2015, are also at the top of voters’ concerns, according to opinion studies, due to an increase in arrivals of asylum seekers in recent months.
In Hesse, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who led the social democratic list, suffered a bitter setback: the SPD (15%) came behind the AfD (18.9%), neck and neck for third place with the Greens, current junior ally in the regional government.
Olaf Scholz’s party is far behind the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by an unknown person, Boris Rhein, which won 34.2%, a clear increase compared to 2018 (27%).
A “disappointing performance”
“Unfortunately, we did not succeed in establishing ourselves with our themes. It’s a very disappointing performance.”admitted Nancy Faeser, a government heavyweight, who intends, despite criticism from the opposition, to keep her portfolio.
In Bavaria, the thunderous head of government Markus Söder certainly won, but with a slightly lower result (36.5 to 36.8%) and the worst in more than seventy years for his Christian Social Union (CSU) party. ), regional avatar of the CDU.
This poor score could weaken his presumed desire to become chancellor, even if he assured Sunday that he had no such ambitions.
The person concerned said ” satisfied “ of the result, which allows it to constitute “a stable and strong majority” with its current partner, the Free Voters (Freie Wähler), a very conservative party established in the countryside, which would collect a little more than 14%.
The AfD (15.5 to 15.9%) would come in second position here too, but remains neck and neck with the Greens (15.4 to 15.8), while the SPD, chronically weak in this Land, collapses a little more (around 8%).
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