According to the 6 p.m. forecasts by ARD and ZDF on Sunday evening, the AfD was the second strongest force. Behind them are the SPD, the Greens and, by far, the FDP. According to the forecasts, the Union achieved between 29.5 and 30 percent. The AfD came in at 16 to 16.5 percent. The SPD got 14 percent, the Greens achieved 12 to 12.5 percent and the FDP is at 5 percent.
The newly founded left-wing alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) achieved 5.5 to 6 percent from scratch. Germany has 96 of a total of 720 representatives in the European Parliament. Around 65 million citizens were called to vote, and around 360 million people across the EU. In Germany, 16 and 17-year-olds were also eligible to vote for the first time. Unlike in state and federal elections, there was no five percent threshold.
“We’re moving forward”
CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann described the Union as the clear winner of the European elections in Germany. “We are continuing to make a good start,” he said on ARD. “The Chancellor’s party has 14 percent, we have more than twice as much.” SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz cannot continue like this. “He should actually be asking the question of confidence in the Bundestag,” said Linnemann. Things cannot go on like this. Linnemann said on ZDF: “What we are experiencing is disastrous. Either the traffic light coalition changes course or it must clear the way for new elections.”
AfD leader Tino Chrupalla described his party’s result in the European elections as “historic”. “We achieved a super result and I think that will continue to rise over the course of the evening. So we are not giving up second place today,” said Chrupalla. According to initial forecasts, the AfD was able to increase from 11 to 16 to 16.5 percent compared to the 2019 European elections. AfD co-leader Alice Weidel spoke of a “super result”.
“Very bitter election result”
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert described his party’s performance in the European elections as “a very bitter election result”. “This is a hard defeat for us today,” Kühnert also said on ARD. Green Party leader Ricarda Lang also expressed her disappointment there: “This is not the aspiration we went into this election with, and we will work through it together.”
In contrast to federal and state elections, there is no threshold for the European elections in Germany, i.e. a five percent hurdle. According to forecasts, voter turnout is between 64 and 66 percent. In 2019, it was 61.4 percent, at which time Germany was in fifth place among the 27 EU states. For the first time, 16 and 17 year olds were allowed to vote in a European election in Germany.
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Source: Nachrichten
