Around 4.3 million Hessians were asked to vote for a new state parliament. According to Infratest dimap projections at 8:19 pm, the CDU was by far the strongest party with 34.3 percent. This is how the Christian Democrats recovered after heavy defeats in the elections five years ago. Prime Minister Boris Rhein’s party increased by 7.3 percentage points compared to 2018, from which it also emerged victorious.
“The CDU has a clear government mandate from citizens,” Rhein said in front of enthusiastic supporters on Sunday night. He did not say whether he wanted to continue the ten-year-old coalition with the Greens or begin negotiations with the SPD.
AfD makes strong gains – historically bad result for SPD
The AfD also recorded a significant increase in votes. After 13.1% in 2018, it is now at 17.9% – which means second place in Hesse.
The Social Democrats with the main candidate Nancy Faeser, on the other hand, lost 4.7 percentage points compared to 2018. With Federal Interior Minister Faeser, the SPD fell from second to third place with 15.1 percent – a historically bad result. Faeser called the election results “very disappointing” for her party. She told her supporters that the SPD had not fully addressed its issues in the election campaign.
The Greens fall from second to fourth place – FDP out
The Greens, who are currently in a government coalition with the CDU, even fell from second to fourth place, with 14.6 percent. In 2018 they came in second place together with the SPD (19.8 percent each).
According to Infratest dimap projections, the FDP is at 4.9 percent and, as of now, just below the 5 percent barrier. In 2018, the Liberals had 7.5 percent.
The left will probably be out of state parliament
Left-wing (3.1 percent) and free (3.6 percent) voters failed to overcome the five percent barrier. The left, which had 6.3% in 2018, will probably have to leave parliament in Wiesbaden.