The president of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Alice Weidel, had some reason to smile broadly and say ” very proud “ in front of the cameras after the closing of the polling stations, Sunday October 8, in Bavaria and Hesse. In these two Länder which account for almost a quarter of the country’s population, the AfD is rising to unprecedented levels, while the parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition are in clear decline.
In Bavaria, the AfD would obtain 16% of the votes, according to still provisional results, or almost 6 points more than in the last regional elections, in 2018. In Hesse, it would collect 18%, 5 points more than there is five years old. These results confirm the rise of the far right across the country recorded by polling institutes. If legislative elections took place today in Germany, the AfD would exceed 20%, according to the latest surveys. In 2021, he obtained 10.3% of the votes. The only downside for the AfD on Sunday: the narrow defeat of its candidate in Bitterfeld-Wolfen (Saxony-Anhalt), where the second round of a partial municipal election was won by the conservative outgoing mayor (CDU). ).
The big loser in Sunday’s elections is Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD). In Hesse, where his head of the list was the Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, he would collect 15% of the votes, down almost 5 points compared to 2018. In Bavaria, he would barely exceed 8%, almost two points less than five years ago. Main partners of Olaf Scholz, the Greens were also sanctioned. In Bavaria, they would obtain a little less than 15% (-2.8). In Hesse, where they would also total 15% of the votes, their decline is more significant since it would be around 5 points compared to 2018.
For the Liberal Democrats (FDP), third component of the coalition “ traffic light” by Olaf Scholz, the reverse is even more stinging. With less than 3% in Bavaria (-2.5 points), they do not obtain the 5% necessary to be represented in the regional parliament. In Hesse, they risk experiencing the same fate, with 4.9% of the votes, according to provisional results (-2 points). For the party of the Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner, this October 8 is another dark day: since its entry into government alongside the SPD and the Greens, at the end of 2021, the FDP has suffered defeat after defeat in the regional elections, which leads it to constantly harden its positions – particularly on immigration – creating strong turmoil within the government.
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