The SPD wins the state election in Brandenburg, closely followed by the AfD. A look at the winners in the constituencies reveals a divided country.
“The East is blue,” claimed AfD co-leader Alice Weidel on the ARD on election night in Brandenburg. She hoped for similar results in the constituencies as three weeks earlier in Thuringia and Saxony. There, the constituency maps actually showed one color above all: that of the AfD.
Results of the Brandenburg state election on the map
There is no doubt that the party is making progress in the east, and that also applies to Brandenburg. The regional association, which is classified as right-wing extremist, was able to collect almost 30 percent of the votes on Sunday, and the party is one of the winners of the state election. And the AfD should also be pleased with the results in the constituencies. It won the direct mandate in 25 of 44 constituencies, and was also ahead in the second votes in 22. However, Brandenburg is far from “blue”; the SPD won the direct mandate in 19 constituencies and was also ahead in the second votes in 22, as a look at the maps shows:
Nationwide, the AfD secured 31.5 percent of the first and 29.2 percent of the second votes. The party’s strongest competitor is the SPD. It received 33.6 percent of the first and 30.9 percent of the second votes. Other parties were unable to move up to first place in either the first or second votes. This means that the Greens will remain outside the new state parliament because the Potsdam I constituency – contrary to expectations – did not go to their candidate. A small (or large) disappointment for SPD Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke: He lost his Spree-Neiße I constituency to the AfD candidate Steffen Kubitzki – the two are separated by just seven votes.
Forming a government in Brandenburg will probably be difficult. There are 88 MPs in the Potsdam parliament. The SPD and CDU together would only have exactly half of the total. Mathematically, only an alliance of the Social Democrats and BSW would be able to form a majority in the state parliament, because coalitions with the AfD have been ruled out. Ultimately, Brandenburg will therefore probably remain red.
Sources: news agency DPA
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
