Ruling coalition loses ground in Germany

In Germany's state parliament elections, the Christian Social Union (CSU) finished first in Bavaria, while the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) took the lead in Hesse, as the ruling Social Democrats, Greens, and Liberals suffered significant losses.

According to a report by Euronews, the far-right was the party that increased its vote share the most in elections where migration and economic issues were at the forefront. There are 14 million registered voters in the two states.

Considering that one-fifth of Germany's total electorate lives in these two states, these election results have effectively turned into a vote of confidence for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government, which has been in power for two years.

Bavaria is known as the country's largest state. In this state, all three parties in the ruling coalition saw their vote shares decline.

The country's best-selling weekly magazine, Der Spiegel, wrote that two years after taking office, the results are being viewed as a "midterm report card" for Scholz's coalition government.

Describing the results as a "disaster" for the ruling coalition, the German magazine commented that "the coalition government needs a complete overhaul if it wants to be re-elected in two years."

Center-right parties finish the race in the lead

According to exit polls, the CDU in Hesse increased its vote share by 8.5 points compared to the 2018 elections, finishing first with 35.5 percent.

The two states are known as the "strongholds" of the country's conservative parties.

The main opposition CDU has won local elections in Hesse for the last 24 years, while the CSU has won in Bavaria since 1957.

In this election, the CSU became the leading party in Bavaria with 37 percent of the vote. The CSU's vote share decreased by 0.2 points compared to the previous election.

The CSU thus recorded its worst result in the last 70 years. The CSU had previously governed the state many times as a single-party government.

Far-right makes a leap in Bavaria

The biggest leap in Bavaria was made by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Increasing its vote share by 4.8 points compared to the previous election, the AfD became the third most-voted party with 15 percent.

SPD suffers defeat, losing 3.8 points in Hesse and 1.2 points in Bavaria

The SPD, of which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is a member, suffered a defeat, losing 3.8 points in Hesse and 1.2 points in Bavaria compared to the elections held 5 years ago.

The SPD's candidate for Prime Minister in the state of Hesse was Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. The SPD was able to receive 15 percent of the vote in this state.

Reports in the German media commented that there is curiosity about whether Faeser will step down from her post as Interior Minister following these results.

The Green Party's votes decreased by 4.3 points in Bavaria and 1.6 points in Hesse compared to the previous elections.

The Free Democratic Party (FDP) remained outside the parliament in Bavaria with 3 percent of the vote, while whether it will pass the 5 percent electoral threshold in Hesse will be determined after all votes are counted.

What was the voter turnout?

Voter turnout was recorded at 72.5 percent in Bavaria and 64.5 percent in Hesse.

CSU and Free Voters Party (FW) are expected to continue in office

Following these results, the current government in Bavaria, consisting of the CSU and the Free Voters Party (FW), is expected to continue its term.

In the state of Hesse, it is predicted that the CDU will continue its government partnership with the Greens. In the Bavaria state elections, the CSU received 37 percent, the SPD 8.5 percent, the Greens 16 percent, the AfD 15 percent, and the FW 14 percent; in the state of Hesse, the CDU received 35.5 percent, the SPD 16 percent, the Greens 15.5 percent, and the AfD 16 percent. The Left Party failed to enter the parliament in either state.

News Source: 12punto