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September 22, 2024 - 8:00am
For the first time since the Nazi era, a party to the Right of the Conservatives won a German election. That was three weeks ago in regional elections in Thuringia, where the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) came first. Neighbouring Saxony also had a vote, and the AfD came second. This weekend, people in my home state of Brandenburg head to the polls. The outcome will put pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz whether the AfD wins again or not.
There is a lot to learn from the Brandenburg election, and Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) should be watching particularly closely. They only managed to get 6.1% in Thuringia and 7.3% in Saxony. But in Brandenburg, they are locked in a neck-and-neck race with the AfD for first place. The last poll had the AfD at 28% and the SPD at 27%.
The figures for the Brandenburg SPD are remarkable for being nearly twice as high as its predictions for next year’s general election. The fact that Scholz’s party continues to do much better in Brandenburg than it does at the federal level poses uncomfortable questions. What’s the local party chapter doing that the Chancellor can’t deliver for the nation?
One important strength of Brandenburg’s SPD has been leadership. After German reunification in 1990, I grew up there under Manfred Stolpe and Matthias Platzeck, both SPD and in power as state leaders for over a decade respectively. The current minister president Dietmar Woidke has been in office since 2013 and his personal popularity remains high.
One recent survey suggested that Woidke would win an absolute majority if Brandenburgers could vote directly for him rather than his party. Only 9% said they wanted the local AfD leader Hans-Christoph Berndt in charge. By contrast, recent surveys have suggested that only 16% of Germans thought Scholz showed good leadership.
Brandenburgers are facing a dilemma: many want Woidke but not his party, which is associated with its unpopular federal politics. Local campaign posters plead: “If you want Woidke, you’ll have to vote SPD”. Woidke has also distanced himself from Scholz, asking him not to come to Brandenburg, as his “support” would be detrimental. In an effort to raise the stakes, the incumbent has even threatened to resign should the AfD win.
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SubscribeLeo Varadkar quit as Taoiseach [PM] because he realised (and said so in a very honest statement) that he was not the person to go on leading his party. The papers Scholz reads please copy.
“For the first time since the Nazi era, a party to the Right of the Conservatives won a German election.” – It is difficult to reproach respected Katja for her objectivity.
Is shadow banning already in use? 🙂 Gentlemen, you are becoming boring.
This article includes another example of EU and Germany hypocrisy.
So Voidke wants to stop migrants crossing from Poland but EU (controlled by Germany) fines Hungary for trying to stop migrants crossing it borders.
Reality is that migrants do not want to stop in Poland and Hungary because these countries don’t provide free housing and money to them.
They are freeloaders of no benefit to Europe.