2021 was a super election year! But 2022 will not be without it either: 30 million Germans will vote for their state parliaments in four federal states. And before that, the head of state is elected.
BILD names the most important political dates in the coming year.
February 13: Election of the Federal President
Will Frank-Walter Steinmeier (65) be re-elected by the Federal Assembly? The chances of this are good, especially since there are no other applicants yet. The Union is still looking for a woman to compete for them – with little chance of winning.
March 27: State election in Saarland
Small federal state (1 million inhabitants), but an exciting power constellation.
Similar to the federal government, a GroKo made up of CDU and SPD has ruled over the past few years. If Prime Minister Tobias Hans (43) asserts himself, that would be the first slap for the traffic light government in the federal government.
But at the moment it looks like the omens will change: The SPD is ahead in surveys with country manager Anke Rehlinger (45). A traffic light (SPD, Greens, FDP) is also conceivable – and mathematically possible.
May 8: State election in Schleswig-Holstein
It goes on in Schleswig-Holstein! There the Jamaica coalition (CDU, Greens, FDP) rules relatively quietly. According to the latest polls, black-green-red would still have the majority, but the SPD is clearly ahead of the CDU in first place. Should it win the election, they would try to form a traffic light government like the one in the federal government.
May 15: State election in North Rhine-Westphalia
Just a week later, perhaps the highlight of the election year: The most populous federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 18 million inhabitants is voting!
According to current surveys, everything seems to be there: State chief Hendrik Wüst (46, CDU), who replaced Armin Laschet (60) shortly after the federal election, has to assert himself.
Wüst is currently also head of the Prime Minister’s Conference. Does it help or harm? At the moment, the CDU and SPD are on par in surveys; a GroKo as well as a traffic light or Jamaica would be mathematically possible.
October 9: State election in Lower Saxony
In Lower Saxony, SPD state chief Stephan Weil (63) has ruled since 2013, currently with the CDU, before that with the Greens.
▶ ︎ His chances of being re-elected are currently good. According to current surveys, he could even choose the coalition partner – but a lot can still happen until October. Adversary Bernd Althusmann (55, CDU) has already indicated that if he wins the election he would rather rule with the Greens.
What else is up?
In 2022, Germany will chair the G7, the group of seven leading industrialized countries.
Means: There is a big G7 summit – like in 2015 at Schloss Elmau in the picturesque Bavarian mountains.
AND: The last nuclear power plants in Germany are to be shut down at the end of 2022.
But that should cause a lot of trouble, especially since the EU is now classifying nuclear power as clean energy in terms of climate policy, i.e. contributing to climate protection.
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