Small advantage over the Alternative for the Germany (AfD) retains the Social Democratic Party (SPD), while the vote count in the state of Brandenburg.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) leads with 31.1% (+4.5 compared to 2019), turning the polls around, while the Alternative for Germany (AfD) follows with 29.6% (+6.1).
The battle for third place appears to be won by the newly formed “Zara Wagenknecht Alliance” (BSW), which reaches 13.1%, leaving the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) in fourth place with 12.1% (-3.5).
The Greens are currently out of parliament with 4.6% (-6.2), while the Left’s percentages have decreased to 2.9% (-7.8) it seems that the departure of Zara Wagenknecht and the creation of her own party.
Prime Minister Dietmar Vojtke (SPD) appeared modestly optimistic about the outcome of tonight’s match and spoke of “a lot of work” behind his party’s success. Hugely popular in Brandenburg, he had said before the election that if the SPD lost he would resign.
“Whoever wants Voydke, votes for the SPD” was his campaign slogan, and his opponent Alice Weidel of the AfD argued that the SPD ended up taking votes from supporters of other parties, such as the Greens.
“Strategic voting” has also been described as a “problem” by Green leader Ricarda Lang. However, her party can still hope to secure its entry into parliament through the direct election of one of its candidates.
In Brandenburg, the electoral rules stipulate that if a party elects at least one member of parliament by direct election, it is guaranteed entry into Parliament, regardless of its overall percentage.
Historically low rate for the CDU
The CDU, for its part, is facing its worst ever election result in East Germany. Party Secretary General Carsten Linnemann attributed the CDU’s low ratings to the duel between Dietmar Voytke and AfD leader Christoph Berd, which ended up polarizing voters.
The Christian Union (CDU/CSU) made sure to decide on the chancellor candidate already before today’s elections, with the CDU leader securing it for himself and relieving himself of the stress of the election result early.
The government of Dietmar Voytke (SPD, CDU, Greens) does not seem to be able to continue at the moment and, given the refusal of all parties to cooperate with the AfD, an alliance with Zara Wagenknecht may be necessary. Mr Vojtke has already left open the possibility of negotiations with the BSW.
The Chancellor Olaf Solzwho voted by mail while in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, had little to gain from a possible victory for his party in Brandenburg, where the SPD has won every election since 1990. He had a lot to lose, however, in the event of defeat, as there is strong resentment within his party towards both him and the federal government. It is characteristic that Dietmar Voytke chose to wager the electoral battle on his personal capital and without the Chancellor, who is actually a resident of Brandenburg, because he did not want to share the burden of the federal government.
The Brandenburg elections cap an extremely difficult election year for the Solz government and beyond, with the defeat of the federal coalition parties and the consolidation of the rise of the extremes in the European elections in Saxony and Thuringia. The next state elections will take place in March in the traditionally social democratic city of Hamburg, and Olaf Scholz will sooner or later also be faced with the question of whether he will ultimately retain the privilege of being the SPD’s campaign manager again ahead of the federal elections in the autumn of 2025 or be forced to step down in favour of a more popular candidate, such as Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.
With information from APE-MPE
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Germany: Olaf Solz stakes his political future on Brandenburg