Elections In Germany, Heavy Defeat For Scholz

AGI – The German Chancellor’s uneasy coalition Olaf Scholz suffered Heavy losses in the elections in Hesse and Bavaria, which is seen as a decisive test in the middle of his term in office, as the right-wing populist celebrates. According to voting forecasts, all three coalition parties – Scholz’s center-left SPD, the Greens and the liberal FDP – lost ground in the southern state of Bavaria, Bavaria’s largest state, and the western state of Hesse.

In both states right-wing conservative and populist parties They used the election campaign to attack the Scholz government on migration and energy policy. And it paid off.

The conservative CSU won as expected in both states, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) recorded steady growth and once again raised alarm bells about its popularity. In Hesse, it was expected that the CSU, which was already in government, would receive 34.5% of the vote. AfD grows by two percentage points and reaches the expected 18%: If confirmed, it would be the party’s best result in a state election in West Germany and would put it in second place behind the Conservatives.

All three parties in Scholz’s federal coalition slipped a few percentage points, with the SPD and Greens at around 15%, while the FDP is at 4.9% and could miss the 5% threshold. In Bavaria, the CSU received the most votes and has led the country’s government almost continuously since 1946.

However, at just 36.7%, according to expected results, this is the party’s worst result since 1958. The Greens fell slightly to 15%, while the SPD fell to a disastrous 8%. With the expected 2.8% The FDP will not even enter the regional parliament.

The far-right AfD will not come to government in either state and no other party will ask it to form a coalition, but these results will have broader implications at the federal level. The poor results have sparked some reflection within Scholz’s coalition, with senior figures admitting a new approach is needed.

The elections are “a signal to the three parties in the traffic light coalition that a different pace is needed to solve the problems of citizens in this country,” said SPD co-chairman Lars Klingbeil to the broadcaster Ard. However, the AfD had reason to celebrate: Co-chair Alice Weidel said the party was “on the right track”He described the vote as a “lesson for the national governing coalition and a vote for change.”