Elections in Germany – Bavaria and Hesse state elections become a test of mood – News

• In the German states of Bavaria and Hesse, there are preliminary expectations for the eagerly awaited state elections.
• According to expectations, the CDU won the Hesse state elections by a large margin, and the CSU in Bavaria appears to have become the strongest force again.
• Polls and forecasts predict that the parties in the Federal Traffic Light coalition (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Greens (Greens) will perform rather poorly in the parliamentary elections.
• Polling stations closed their doors at six in the evening. The final result is expected to appear on Monday evening.

When compared to Germany, Bavaria and Hesse are economically strong regions. In total, approximately 20 million people live in the two federal states – approximately 24% of Germany’s population.

According to the first calculations by the television stations ARD and ZDF, Prime Minister Markus Söder’s Christian Social Union (CSU) had a 36.5-37.0 percent share in Bavaria (2018: 37.2 percent). The proportion of liberal voters who participated in government improved to 14 percent (2018: 11.6 percent).

The Green Party, by far the largest opposition force in Bavaria, deteriorated slightly and ended up with a 15.5-16 percent share (2018: 17.5 percent). The AfD improved significantly to 15 to 16 percent (2018: 10.2 percent). Once again, the Chancellor’s Social Democrats achieved only a single-digit result in Bavaria with 8.5 percent (2018: 9.7 percent). According to projections, the Liberal Democrats failed to meet the five per cent hurdle to return to state parliament by 3.0 per cent (2018: 5.1 per cent).

legend:

Hubert Ewanger (left) and Markus Söder (right) speak to the media in the lower courtyard garden of the Bavarian State Chancellery.

Keystone/DPA/Stefan Buchner

In Bavaria, the Christian Social Union, which exists only there, has been the head of government for more than 65 years. Prime Minister Markus Söder has ruled in coalition with the conservative Free Voters party since 2018.

The fact that Free Voters leader Hubert Ewanger was linked to an anti-Semitic post from his student days during the election campaign did not seem to hurt them. The note was found in the school desk of the then high school student in the 1980s. Iwanger denied that he wrote the post. Shortly thereafter, his older brother announced that he was the author.

In the state of Hesse, Prime Minister Boris Rehn’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) made significant gains, achieving, according to forecasts, 34.5 to 35.5 percent (2018: 27 percent). The Green Party, the former coalition partner, decreased to 15.5 percent (2018: 19.8 percent).

The Social Democratic Party, with Federal Interior Minister Nancy Visser as first candidate, remained below its historically weak result since 2018 (19.8 percent) in its former stronghold of 15 to 16 percent. The AfD made gains in Hessen, reaching 16 to 17 percent (2018: 13.1 percent). According to forecasts, the Left, previously represented in the Hesse state parliament, failed due to the threshold clause by 3.5 percent (2018: 6.3 percent), while the FDP had to worry about returning by 5 percent (2018: 7.5 percent ). percent).

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German Interior Minister Nancy Wieser wants to remain federal minister if she fails in the state of Hesse.

Keystone/EPA/Christopher Neuendorf

Polling stations remained open until six in the evening. The preliminary final result is expected to be announced on Monday evening.