The election results in Saxony and Thuringia are a triumph for the AfD and a debacle for the traffic light parties. The voices from the historic state elections.
Saxony Prime Minister and CDU top candidate, Michael Kretschmer: “It won’t be easy,” said Kretschmer at the CDU’s election party. “But one thing is certain: with a lot of discussions and the will to do something for this country, we can use this election result to give Saxony a stable government that serves the country and moves forward with humility.”
Thuringia AfD top candidate Björn Höcke: “You won’t be able to get past us if you want stable conditions for Thuringia. Without involving the AfD, there will be no stability for Thuringia.”
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil: “My aim is that we get better,” said Klingbeil on Sunday evening on ARD, referring to the poor performance of his party, but also of the democratic parties as a whole. However, the SPD did better than predicted a few weeks ago, added Klingbeil. This is because the SPD fought, said the party leader. Nevertheless, this is a result “that we certainly cannot celebrate,” he admitted. “We have to take care of people’s everyday worries, we have to enter into dialogue,” stressed Klingbeil. The rise of the AfD in particular is “something that I do not want to accept.”
Spahn sees similarities with BSW
The CDU politician Jens Spahn is open to the possibility of cooperation with the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) at the state level. He is certain that the BSW in Thuringia wants to concentrate primarily on state politics, said the deputy leader of the Union parliamentary group on ARD. There are similarities with the CDU in terms of tablets in schools, better education and rural areas. He was more skeptical about the possibility of Wagenknecht herself exerting greater influence.
FDP Chairman and Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner: “The results in Saxony and Thuringia are painful,” he wrote in the online service X. “But no one should be deceived, because we are not giving up our fight for liberal values.”
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai: “As bitter as the evening is, there is no reason to be depressed or angry, in fact the opposite is the case. Tonight is of course a setback for me, but at the same time a temporary setback and an incentive. Of course the ‘traffic light’ plays a big role,” he said on ARD.
Election results in Thuringia “a historic turning point for our country”
FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki: “The election result shows that the traffic light coalition has lost its legitimacy.” If a significant portion of voters “refuse to give their consent in this way, there must be consequences,” Kubicki writes on X. “People have the impression that this coalition is damaging the country. And it is definitely damaging the Free Democratic Party.”
Green Party leader Omid Nouripour: “Even though the Prime Minister has actually been campaigning against his own people the whole time for the last two years, to be honest my pain this evening is marginal compared to the fact that we have a deep turning point and an openly right-wing extremist party has become the strongest force in a state parliament for the first time since ’49.”
Green Party Federal Chairwoman Ricarda Lang: “If the AfD has managed to become the strongest force in one state, Thuringia – and here I hope that this does not happen – then that is a historic turning point for our country.”
The Green Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt: “The election in Thuringia is a democratic turning point in this country,” writes the Green politician on the short message service X. “For the first time in the history of the Federal Republic, the Höcke-AfD, a right-wing extremist, anti-democratic party, is the strongest force in a state parliament. This must be a wake-up call everywhere in Germany to preserve our freedom.”
Left Party leader Martin Schirdewan: “It is clear that the split to the right of the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance has hurt my party in particular, but also the social left,” Schirdewan said on ZDF. “You have to say that BSW is a gift for the AfD, because the social left and also my party are suffering most from it, but the extreme right is strengthened by the BSW and its positions.”
Source: Stern

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