The SPD wins the state elections in Saarland with a landslide, while the CDU advises on the political future of Hans, who lost the election. And one party only narrowly misses entry into the state parliament.
After their furious electoral success in the state elections in Saarland, the SPD can form a sole government with top candidate Anke Rehlinger, according to the preliminary results.
Rehlinger is today advising the top committees of the federal and state SPD on how to proceed. The previous Prime Minister and CDU election loser Tobias Hans wants to talk to the committees of his party about personal consequences. The AfD also made it into the state parliament – but the Greens, FDP and Left did not. According to their own statements, the Greens were missing a whole 23 votes.
The SPD won the first of four state elections this year in Saarland on Sunday. According to the preliminary result, the Social Democrats received 43.5 percent of the votes (2017: 29.6). They won 29 of the 51 seats in the state parliament and would therefore not be dependent on a coalition partner. Currently, none of the 16 federal states is led by a single government.
Rehlinger indicates sole government
Rehlinger, previously Deputy Prime Minister and Economics Minister in the Hans cabinet and SPD Deputy Chief in the federal government, said on ZDF: “It now seems that there is a clear indication that the absolute majority is the form with which we will be in the next few years shape the future of the country. We have big plans. And that’s what we want to do now.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was happy for the 45-year-old and attributed her success. “Winning an absolute majority is something very, very special,” he said on the ARD program “Anne Will”. At the same time, Scholz emphasized that the SPD is a closed party with a good plan, “and we complement each other there”.
CDU crashes – Greens miss entry
Hans’ CDU fell to 28.5 percent after getting 40.7 percent five years ago. The Christian Democrats had been the head of government for almost 23 years without a break. On Sunday evening, Hans had announced a decision to resign as head of the CDU state. “It was an honor to have served this country as prime minister and an honor to have served you as party leader,” said the 44-year-old.
From CDU party circles it was announced that the elected representatives from the state executive board and parliamentary group now wanted a fresh start. It was probably inevitable that Hans would resign as party chairman, it said. It was assumed that he would remain a member of the state parliament. The state board of the Saar-CDU wanted to meet at 7.30 p.m. Hans had only been prime minister since March 2018, succeeding Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who had moved to Berlin.
In addition to the SPD and CDU, according to preliminary results, only the AfD with 5.7 percent (2017: 6.2) made it into the state parliament. According to their own statements, the Greens were only 23 votes short with 4.99502 percent. The FDP also missed out on entering the state parliament with 4.8 percent (2017: 3.3). The left experienced a crash, which at 2.6 percent was only able to mobilize around a fifth of the electorate from 2017 (12.8).
Parties discuss how to proceed
In Saarbrücken, the previous and future SPD members of the state parliament wanted to meet in the morning, and the state executive board met in the evening (6:30 p.m.). The old and new CDU parliamentary group meets at 5 p.m., at 7.30 p.m. the state executive board advises. The SPD federal executive committee meets in Berlin at 12:00 p.m., before (11:30 a.m.) the SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken and election winner Rehlinger express themselves. The CDU federal chairman Friedrich Merz wants to appear before the press together with Hans after consultations with the top committees of the party. Top representatives of the other parties also want to analyze the outcome of the state elections.
The SPD saw the outcome of the elections in Saarland as a tailwind for the other state elections this year. Elections will take place in Schleswig-Holstein on May 8th, in North Rhine-Westphalia on May 15th and in Lower Saxony on October 9th. With reference to nationwide surveys, the Union had emphasized that the Saar election did not show any federal trend. In nationwide opinion polls, the SPD and the Union are currently close together.
According to the political scientist Uwe Jun, Sunday was primarily a state political election. He attributed the SPD’s strong performance to Rehlinger’s popularity and the weakness of Hans and the smaller parties. “Federal politics only played a subordinate role,” said the scientist from the University of Trier of the German Press Agency.
Source: Stern
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
