Elections: CDU clearly wins state elections in Hesse

Clear victory for the CDU and second place for the AfD: The Berlin traffic light parties suffered a debacle in the state elections in Hesse. The CDU won by far ahead of all other parties.

The party led by Prime Minister Boris Rhein won 34.6 percent of the votes, as shown on the Internet portal of the Hessian state returning officer on Monday night. The AfD was the second strongest force with 18.4 percent. The SPD, with Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser as the top candidate, achieved its worst result in Hesse and achieved 15.1 percent. The FDP experienced a tremor on election evening and only narrowly entered the state parliament with 5.0 percent. Left and Free voters, however, clearly missed out with 3.1 percent and 3.5 percent respectively.

The CDU, which has been in power for almost 25 years, has gained 7.6 percentage points compared to the last state election in 2018. In comparison, the SPD lost 4.7 percentage points, the Greens, which co-governed with Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Al-Wazir, lost 5 percentage points. The AfD, on the other hand, gained 5.3 percentage points.

According to the preliminary results, the new Hessian state parliament will have 133 members in the future, which is due to compensatory and overhang mandates. So far there have been 137 MPs. According to the state constitution, a size of 110 seats is provided. Half of these are awarded through direct mandates in the constituencies, the other half through the parties’ state lists.

However, the decisive factor for the distribution of seats is the result at the state level (second votes). Overhang and compensatory mandates occur when a party wins more direct mandates than it would actually be entitled to based on the second vote result. The other parties then receive compensatory mandates so that the election results are not distorted.

The CDU receives 52 seats (+12), the AfD 28 (+9). The SPD has 23 seats (-6), the Greens have 22 representatives (-7). The FDP still has 8 seats (-3).

CDU sees “clear government mandate” – with black and green?

This would make it possible to continue the black-green coalition that has been in power for almost ten years. But a grand coalition of CDU and SPD would also have a majority.

Prime Minister Rhine offered talks about cooperation with the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. “We will form a government from the middle of this society, from the middle of the country,” he said in the evening.

For Green Party lead candidate Al-Wazir, the election showed that there is no mood for change in Hesse. “And I think that is also a clear indication of what the citizens expect from us in the next few weeks,” he said, referring to a possible continuation of the coalition between the CDU and the Greens.

SPD top woman with a lot of headwind

SPD top candidate Faeser called the result “very disappointing” and complained that she had faced a lot of headwind. When asked whether she would remain SPD state chairwoman, she said on ZDF: “We’ll see about that in the next few days and weeks.” In the ARD she expressed her confidence that she would be able to continue her ministerial office in Berlin. “I received a lot of solidarity from Berlin today.”

SPD party leader Lars Klingbeil had previously supported her. She has had great successes on the issue of migration and achieved “a major negotiation success” in reforming the European asylum system. Co-chief Saskia Esken told broadcaster Welt TV that Faeser had done a “great job” as interior minister so far. “She should continue to do that because they are important tasks.” SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert said in the ARD’s “Berliner Runde” that the party leadership was clearly behind Faeser.

The Union’s parliamentary secretary in the Bundestag, Thorsten Frei (CDU), however, called for a cabinet reshuffle in Berlin. Faeser returns to Berlin defeated. “It will now have even less of the necessary authority to solve the ongoing migration crisis at the Berlin and Brussels levels,” he said.

According to an analysis by the Elections Research Group, “a pale Prime Minister” met a “completely indisposed challenger” Faeser. When it comes to voter reputation, Faeser ended up well in the negative zone on a +5/-5 scale with minus 1.3 – the worst image of an SPD candidate ever in a state election.

FDP points to the traffic lights in the federal government

The Hessian FDP chairwoman Bettina Stark-Watzinger also attributed her party’s weak performance to the federal traffic light coalition. “All three coalition parties have suffered losses here in Hesse,” said the Federal Education Minister.

AfD leader Alice Weidel was delighted with her party’s performance. “Our politics proves us right,” said Weidel. She also viewed the strength of her party as a sign of people’s dissatisfaction with the federal government’s “ban policy”. With regard to the federal government, she spoke of a realistic chance of participating in government in 2025.

The Left Party leader Janine Wissler expressed her disappointment. “It is so bitter that we can no longer continue our work,” she said, referring to her home state of Hesse, where the Left will no longer be represented in the state parliament. The speculation about the founding of a new party by the left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht would also have done immense damage.

The black-green coalition has so far ruled with a narrow majority

Hesse has been governed by the CDU for almost 25 years, and together with the Greens for almost ten years – currently with a majority of one mandate. The aim of the current Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Al-Wazir (52) and SPD top candidate Faeser (53) was to replace Rhein (51) at the head of the state government. Before the election, Faeser made it clear that he would only return to state politics from Berlin if he won such an election.

Around 4.3 million eligible voters in Hesse were asked to tick their boxes. In total, the federal state in the middle of Germany has more than 6 million inhabitants.