The SPD achieves the worst result in its history in the traditional German working-class region
The German conservatives won their second consecutive regional elections in a week in Germany this Sunday in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with a clear and indisputable result and a significant lead over the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens. Exit polls after polls close at 6 p.m. local time show the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) reaching 35%, two points more than five years ago, while the SPD records its worst record in history by falling under for the first time. reach the mark of 30% of the vote and only 27.5% of the vote in the region that for decades was considered the heart of German Social Democracy. The clear winners of the day were Los Verdes, who tripled their percentage of votes compared to the 2017 election to add 18.5%.
After suffering significant losses, the Liberal Party (FDP) is up in the air at 5%, the minimum to gain parliamentary representation and will be seen on a tightrope until the end of scrutiny. However, the ultra-nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) is sure to enter the Düsseldorf regional chamber, although its forces are exhausted and with only 6% of the vote. The parliamentary elections in North Rhine-Westphalia are considered a limited version of the general in this country because of the characteristics of that state, with some 18 million inhabitants, the most populous state in Germany. The result of the polls is very similar to that of the latest national-level polls, in which the conservative opposition outnumbered the Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz in voting intention.
The winner of the election is the current prime minister in the Rhine region, Christian Democrat Hendrik Wüst, who has been in office since October last year, succeeding Armin Laschet, the failed conservative candidate in last September’s German general election. The electoral success is also a boost for CDU president, veteran Friedrich Merz, who is responsible for reinvigorating the formation. However, Wüst’s victory threatens Merz’s political ambitions. Like Günther Daniel, the young conservative who won the elections in the state of Schleswig-Holstein last week, Wüst is one of the regional barons whose names are already being considered for power in Berlin in just over three years.
For Olaf Scholz and the Social Democrats, the result in North Rhine-Westphalia is a disaster, as they have been plunged into a popularity pit due to the Chancellor’s indecisive policies in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and his reluctance to supply weapons heavily for the invaded country. The SPD fears that this and last Sunday’s defeats will lead to a series of negative trends. The Social Democrats’ dream of repeating in Düsseldorf the tripartite coalition with Greens and Liberals ruling in Berlin will hardly be fulfilled, while the conservatives now have the opportunity to experiment and seek an alliance with the environmentalists in the Rhineland.
Source: La Verdad
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