IN BRIEF: What we know about AfD, Left Party victories, CDU defeat in Germany’s elections

TASS

MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the ruling party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has not cleared the 5% threshold in elections held in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on September 20 and has not entered the state parliament for the first time ever, according to the regional election committee’s preliminary data published after all ballots had been processed.

The Left Party, considered a successor to the ruling party of former East Germany, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), has won elections to the Berlin House of Representatives (the state parliament) for the first time ever, the city’s election committee reported.

TASS has compiled the key information available so far.

– German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU has not entered the state parliament for the first time ever in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state parliament elections held on September 20.

– The party won only 4.9% of votes and did not clear the 5% threshold required to enter the state parliament, according to preliminary official data published by the regional election committee after counting all ballots.

– The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won the election with 38.2% of votes.

– The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) came in second with 35.5% of votes.

– The Left Party garnered support from 6.5% of voters, followed by the Greens with 5.7%. The BSW party (previously known as the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice) was on the verge of the threshold required to enter the state parliament, but received only 4.8% of votes in the end.

– The voter turnout stood at 78.1%.

– The CDU marked its worst-ever result in state elections in Germany.

– The party has never received less than 5% of votes, with the CDU always winning seats in state parliaments.

– For the AfD, the victory in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern marks its third state election win, following previous successes in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt.

– The party advocates restoring ties with Russia, lifting sanctions and resuming gas supplies, demanding an end to arms deliveries to Kiev.

– The Left Party, the successor to former East Germany’s ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), emerged victorious in Berlin House of Representatives elections for the first time.

– The party garnered 25.7% of votes, the city’s election committee reported.

– The CDU came in second with 18.8% of votes.

– The AfD received support from 16.3% of voters, followed by the Greens with 14.3% and the SPD with 12.1%.

– The BSW party secured 4.7% of votes and could not enter the House of Representatives.

– German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the CDU’s result in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state parliament elections as a catastrophe.

– Merz expressed his willingness to keep his posts as CDU chair and chancellor, as he "wants to move the country forward."

– Politico Europe described Merz’s current position as a fight for political survival following another defeat for his CDU party in elections.

– According to the newspaper, Merz is already struggling to retain support within his party.

– His approval rating is among the lowest ever recorded for a German chancellor, which prompted discussions within the CDU about a possible replacement of the chancellor.

– According to a survey conducted by the ZDF broadcaster, only 1% of voters and 1% of CDU supporters said that Merz had helped his party during the elections.

– Russian Presidential Special Envoy for Investment and Economic Cooperation and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev described the CDU result as a historic humiliation.

– The outcome of the elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will not lead to an immediate change in the German federal government’s political course, but will increase the political price of unpopular reforms for the authorities, Ilya Grashchenkov, a political scientist and president of the Center for Regional Policy Development, told TASS.

– Experts note that after the country’s reunification in 1990, hardly anyone could have imagined that the successor to the party that initiated the construction of the Berlin Wall would emerge victorious in the capital.

– Grashchenkov said that the urban agenda, including rising housing costs, rents and daily expenses, has become the main reason for the Left Party’s victory in the Berlin House of Representatives elections.

– He emphasized that "it is the worst-ever result for the Social Democrats in Berlin elections."

Fonte: TASS