- According to initial projections, the ruling Christian Democratic sister parties CDU and CSU have clearly won the state elections in the German states of Hesse and Bavaria.
- The parties in German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s “traffic light” coalition recorded significant losses.
- The polling stations closed at 6 p.m. The final result is expected on Monday night.
When compared within Germany, Bavaria and Hesse are two economically strong regions. Altogether, almost 20 million people live in the two federal states – that’s almost 24 percent of the German population.
According to initial projections by the television stations ARD and ZDF, Prime Minister Markus Söder’s CSU in Bavaria came to 36.7 to 37.0 percent (2018: 37.2 percent). However, this is their worst result in decades. The co-governing conservative Free Voters improved to 14 percent (2018: 11.6 percent). A continuation of the current coalition is almost certain.
The Greens, the largest opposition force in Bavaria to date, deteriorated and ended up at 15.6 percent (2018: 17.5 percent). The AfD improved significantly to 15.8 percent (2018: 10.2 percent). The Chancellor’s SPD party again only managed a single-digit result in Bavaria with 8.5 percent (2018: 9.7 percent). According to projections, the FDP (Liberals) failed to meet the five percent hurdle for re-entry into the state parliament by 3.0 percent (2018: 5.1 percent).
Legend:
Hubert Aiwanger (left) and Markus Söder (right) speak to the media in the lower courtyard garden at the Bavarian State Chancellery.
KEYSTONE/DPA/Stefan Puchner
In Bavaria, the CSU, which only exists there, has been the head of government for more than 65 years. Prime Minister Markus Söder has ruled in a coalition with the conservative Free Voters since 2018.
The fact that the Free Voters’ party leader, Hubert Aiwanger, was associated with an anti-Semitic leaflet from his school days during the election campaign apparently didn’t hurt them. The note was found in the school desk of the then high school student in the 1980s. Aiwanger had denied having written the leaflet. Shortly afterwards, his older brother announced that he was the author.
In Hesse, according to projections, the CDU will get around 35 percent and can therefore gain around eight points compared to the last election five years ago. The AfD achieved around 16 percent, an increase of three points. The Greens got 15.4 (minus 4.4), the SPD dropped another four points to 15.9 percent. The FDP has to worry about entering the Wiesbaden state parliament with 5.0 percent (minus 2.5).
Faeser: Result “very disappointing”
The Federal Minister of the Interior and SPD leading candidate in Hesse, Nancy Faeser, calls the election result “very disappointing” for her party. The SPD did not get through to its themes in the Hessian election campaign at all, she said in a speech to her party. “We will get through this evening together.”
Legend:
The German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wants to remain federal minister if she fails in Hesse.
Keystone/EPA/CHRISTOPHER NEUNDORF
The polling stations were open until 6 p.m. The preliminary final result is expected on Monday night.