Source: Xinhuanet
Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany, held state parliamentary elections on the 9th. Poll polls show that the Social Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Olaf Scholz won in this populous state and stopped two consecutive defeats in local elections. German media believe that this can "take a breath" by Scholz , which is under the recent pressure of the Ukrainian situation, inflation , energy crisis .
On July 6, German Chancellor Scholz (formerly) received routine inquiries at the German Federal Parliament located in Berlin . Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ren Pengfei
stop losing streak
German TV One and TV Two Export polls show that the Social Democratic Party’s vote rate in Lower Saxony is expected to be 32.7% to 33.3%, lower than the final vote rate in the last state election in 2017 36.9%, but it is enough to win. Scholz's key ally in Lower Saxony, Governor Stefan Weil is expected to win his third term.
The SPD's main rival, the Christian Democratic League, is expected to receive votes from 27.5% to 27.6%, the worst result in Lower Saxony in more than 60 years. The CDU leader and deputy governor of the state, Baind Alterhusman, tried to take advantage of the differences and divisions among the three parties within the federal government's ruling party on some hot topics, such as how long should nuclear power plants be served overtime and how to alleviate the pressure on the high price of natural gas , but failed.
DIT News Agency reported that the election results mean that the CDU will be "kicked out" of the state coalition government, and the SPD is expected to jointly form the next state government with the Green Party. At the federal level, both parties are the ruling partners. The Green Party is expected to receive 14% to 14.3% of votes in the lower election, a sharp increase from 8.7% in 2017.
Lower Saxony is located in the north of North Sea , the south of the Harz Mountains, and the west of Netherlands , with 8 million residents. It is the fourth largest state in Germany. Highways, railways and inland rivers gather here, and it is also the headquarters of Volkswagen . According to Reuters , Lower Saxony is a " swing state " with strong economic strength.
Germany held four state parliamentary elections this year. The SPD won in Salle in March, but lost to the CDU in Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia in May.
On September 5, a man refueled a car at a gas station in Berlin, Germany. Recently, Germany's energy and food prices have risen, and the cost of living for residents has increased. German Chancellor Scholz announced the third round of bailout since mid-February on September 4, with an amount of 65 billion euros, aiming to help German people and businesses cope with severe inflation. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ren Pengfei
was helped
Lower Saxony Governor Weir's high popularity is an important factor in the victory of the SPD. After the exit poll was announced, he said in the state capital, Hannover, that this was "in fact not just a local election", suggesting the impact of the election results on the country.
German TV II quoted political analyst Carl Rudolph Kirt as saying that the Lower Saxony election is "very important" to Scholz and can be regarded as a "referendum" for countermeasures to the coalition government's multiple crises.
After Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine in February, Germany, together with other European Union countries, imposed severe economic sanctions on Russia, seeking to reduce its dependence on Russian oil, natural gas and other energy sources, resulting in soaring energy prices. Inflation in Germany rose to a record 10% in September, triggering concerns about a recession.
Against this background, the SPD’s public opinion support rate has been declining across the country, hovering between 18% and 20%, lower than the 25.7% in the Bundestag election last year, lower than the CDU, and sometimes even lower than the Greens.
According to Deutsche News Agency, this local election victory will help the Social Democratic Party reverse its decline and will provide Scholz with more space for subsequent crisis management. SPD Secretary-General Kevin Kunat said the election results will help Germany deal with difficult tasks such as rising natural gas prices.
This is a thermal power plant on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany, taken on September 8. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Stefan Zeitz)
has hidden dangers
However, the Social Democratic Party suffered another defeat in the federal government's other ruling partner of the Liberal Democratic Party, with a vote share expected to be only 4.7% to 4.9%, failing to cross the 5% threshold required to enter the state legislature.
Some experts believe that the defeat of Liberal Democratic Party in Lower Saxony may affect the stability of the three-party coalition government. AP reported that the Liberal Democratic Party's popularity was sluggish and also performed poorly in the first three local elections this year.
The Liberal Democratic Party has a pro-business position, and has natural differences with the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party on ideological . Some Liberal Democrats called the election defeat a "sharp hit" and blamed it in part on the Liberal Democrats' accession to the coalition government. Liberal Democratic Party chairman and German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said many of the original supporters were dissatisfied with the current coalition government and thus "estranged" the Liberal Democratic Party in local elections.
Hanover University Politician Philip Kirkel told Reuters that the Liberal Democratic Party may be more excluded in the ruling coalition in the future, which may even lead the SPD and the Green Party to seek support from the opposition.
In addition, the far-right party German Choice Party also regards itself as the winner, with a vote rate expected to be between 11.6% and 11.8%, almost double the previous election. Reuters said this reflects that when the cost of living crisis frustrated the German people, the Party's support rate rose nationwide.
(Source: Xinhuanet Hu Ruoyu)
