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All three parties in Germany’s ruling coalition saw support fall in yesterday’s regional elections, as voters – motivated by concerns regarding immigration and the economy – voted heavily for right wing, populist parties, the Christian Democratic Union, the Free Voters, and the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Voters turned out to elect regional parliaments in Hesse in western Germany and in the southern region of Bavaria, the country’s biggest state. Almost 1 in 5 of Germany’s electorate were eligible to vote, some 14 million voters.
Germany, Hesse regional parliament election today:
Preliminary final results
CDU-EPP: 34.6% (+7.6)
AfD-ID: 18.4% (+5.3)
SPD-S&D: 15.1% (-4.7)
GRÜNE-G/EFA: 14.8% (-5.0)
FDP-RE: 5.0% (-2.5)
FW-RE: 3.5% (+0.5)
LINKE-LEFT: 3.1% (-3.2)
…+/- vs. 2018 election result
— Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) October 9, 2023
The result is seen as a win for AfD’s ability to extend their support beyond the traditional base in the former East German regions. Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the party, described the gains were a breakthrough moment, saying “AfD is no longer an eastern phenomenon, but has become a major all-German party. So we have arrived.”
Meanwhile, the Free Voters, a right wing populist party, seems likely to join coalition with the CDU in Bavaria, also seeking to take a tough line on immigration.
Germany, Bavaria regional parliament election today:
Preliminary final results
CSU-EPP: 37.0% (-0.2)
FW-RE: 15.8% (+4.2)
AfD-ID: 14.6% (+4.4)
GRÜNE-G/EFA: 14.4% (-3.2)
SPD-S&D: 8.4% (-1.3)
FDP-RE: 3.0% (-2.1)
…+/- vs. 2018 election result
➤ https://t.co/obOCVirbpF#ltwby… pic.twitter.com/yX2uKfANN1
— Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) October 9, 2023
The result is seen as disastrous for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD and the other coalition parties, who commentators believed were being punished by voters.
“For the majority of voters, federal politics was decisive in the election. The federal coalition was punished in both states,” INSA Institute head Hermann Binkert told Bild.
He estimated that 80% of voters in the two states want a completely different immigration policy and voted largely on that basis – an element from which the AfD mainly benefited.
“Immigration policy has overshadowed everything,” the head of the SPD parliamentary group in Hesse, Ginder Rudolph, said.
Mainz University political scientist Juergen Falter, also told Bild that “dissatisfaction with the federal government’s immigration and energy policy was probably the determining factor in this election.”
“The success of both the AfD and the Free Voters will influence the national debate, and is likely to encourage some conservatives, particularly CDU leader Friedrich Merz, to become even more hard-line on issues like migration, BBC said.
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