The results venture a new coalition of Social Democrats and Greens in that region
The German Social Democratic Party (SPD) and its candidate and regional prime minister, Stephan Weil, have emerged this Sunday as winners of the legislative elections in the federal state of Lower Saxony, with an appreciable advantage over the conservatives of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). ) and the rest of the formations that competed for seats in the Hanover parliament. The result represents support and relief for the tripartite of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals that governs the country from Berlin, but above all for the SPD, which in the latest national polls had suffered an appreciable loss of popularity. The electoral campaign in Lower Saxony had become a litmus test for the coalition led by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as its measures to deal with the energy crisis and the consequences of high inflation, issues that voters are more concerned about than problems in their own region.
However, both the Social Democrats and the Conservatives lost percentages compared to the previous elections five years ago, the SPD reaching more than 33% of the vote and the CDU close to 28%, according to the first results after the count began. votes at the close of polling stations. The only formations that gained percentages in the last regional elections of the year in Germany were The Greens and the ultranationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD), both with more than five points compared to the 2017 elections, up to 14% and something more than 11%, respectively. The Liberals (FDP) are around the 5% barrier and will have to wait until the last vote is counted to see if they win seats in the regional chamber. For its part, the Left, with less than 3%, will not have parliamentary representation.
“We have fought and in the end we have won,” said a smiling Stephan Weil half an hour after the polls closed, who has been governing Lower Saxony for 10 years and will be able to do so for one more legislature. The voters “have given the SPD the mandate to form a government and no one else,” said the Social Democratic politician, who spoke of a “tough and unpleasant” campaign due to the presence of groups of troublemakers from the so-called non-conformist movement at his rallies. In spite of everything, he stressed that “we have lived through weeks marked by the deep concerns of the citizens” due to the rise in energy prices and basic necessities, also due to galloping inflation.
grand coalition
The possible outcome points to the end of the last great coalition that governs in a German federal state. The Christian Democrats, with the worst result in their history in the northern German region, were until now the forced partner, in the absence of alternatives, for the Social Democrat Weil’s government. This has spent the campaign announcing that, if the figures add up, Los Verdes would be his first option to negotiate a new regional government alliance. The exit polls and the recount of the first votes support this initiative. The results indicate that social democrats and ecologists will have a sufficient majority of seats in the regional parliament to govern together for the next five years. The Liberals could even join the team, if they finally exceed 5% of the vote, to repeat the Berlin coalition.
The tripartite “has achieved a clear majority of votes in Lower Saxony,” said the general secretary of the SPD, Kevin Künert, while the president of the Greens, Omid Nouripour, celebrated the result as a “giant show of confidence” in the Berlin Executive. “This is a commission for us to govern,” Nouripour said, assuming that the coalition of Social Democrats and Greens in the northern German region is practically a fact.
The supporters of the xenophobic and anti-European Alternative for Germany formation also have cause for rejoicing, which obtained its best result so far in Lower Saxony. Its president at the national level, Timo Chrupalla, affirmed that this increase is due to popular dissatisfaction with the work of the Scholz Executive and that the AfD is the only party capable of “harassing” the federal government. Alternative for Germany remains, however, a pariah in German politics. All the other formations keep it completely isolated by vetoing any alliance, pact or collaboration with the ultra-nationalists at the national, regional or municipal level.
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