03/26/2022 21:30 (act 03/26/2022 21:30)
Acting Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) © APA / dpa
In the German Saarland, a new state parliament will be elected this Sunday (from 8am). More than 750,000 citizens on Germany’s smallest land area are called upon to decide on the composition of parliament and the future of the CDU and SPD grand coalition. The election result promises to be exciting, because according to the latest polls, the SPD could become the strongest force in the Saar for the first time in nearly 23 years.
The Saar elections are also being followed enthusiastically in Berlin. It is considered the first test of humor for the government of traffic lights in the federal government. In addition, the Christian Democrats are looking to see if Friedrich Merz will bring fresh impetus as the party’s new leader. The election in Saar marks the beginning of the 2022 election year, in which elections will also take place in Schleswig-Holstein, North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.
Researchers saw the SPD with top candidate Anke Rehlinger as stable for weeks and well ahead of Prime Minister Tobias Hans’ CDU. Until now, Hans (44) and Deputy Prime Minister Rehlinger (45) have ruled the country together in a grand coalition. In Saarland, the CDU has been prime minister since 1999.
According to polls, there could be a grand coalition led by the SPD. In the event of an electoral victory, Rehlinger would be the SPD’s first female prime minister in the Saar. In purely mathematical terms, it could also be enough for a red-green, red-yellow government and therefore also a red-yellow-green traffic light government if the Greens or the FDP make it to the state parliament. So far, four parties are represented in the Saar state parliament: CDU, SPD, AfD and Linke. With 51 members, the Saarland state parliament is the smallest in Germany. There has been a Groko in the Saar since 2012.