The Christian Democrat CDU became the smiling face in the elections in Germany’s largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of approximately 18 million, one million of which is Turkish origin.
While 13 million voters, who make up 20 percent of the total voters in Germany, went to the polls to determine the new government, Prime Minister Olaf Scholz’s party, the social democrat SPD, was greatly disappointed.
CDU, which was the first party with 34 percent in the last election in 2017, increased its votes by 2.5 percent this time to 35.5 percent. The SPD, which received 31.2 percent of the vote in the last election, lost 4.5 percent of the vote and remained the second party with 26.7 percent, and achieved the worst result in its history in the state, which was once defined as its stronghold.
Another winner of the election, the Greens increased their vote share from 6 percent to 18‚5 percent. The Liberal FDP entered the state parliament with 5.6 percent despite a 7 percent loss of votes, while the Alternative AfD for the right-wing populist Islam and anti-immigrant Germany managed to enter the parliament despite falling from 7.4 percent to 5.6 percent. In the election, 20 candidates of Turkish origin from different parties struggled to enter the State Assembly; It is not yet clear which of these could be selected.
According to these results, the CDU took the authority to form a government in the province again. Hendrik Wüst, the CDU’s prime minister candidate, will continue to serve as prime minister in the new term. It was pointed out that Wüst would have to look for a new partner since the CDU-FDP government lost the absolute majority despite winning the election.
It is estimated that Wüst, who is the representative of the liberal wing of the CDU, may partner with the Greens. Known for his closeness to immigrants of Turkish origin, Wüst, in his statement before the election, stated that Turks and other immigrants are a wealth for both their states and Germany. Wüst said, “Without immigrants, the economic miracle would not have been possible. I am grateful to immigrants and later generations for staying here. These people should be able to practice their faith freely,” while also arguing that the call to prayer from mosques in the province can contribute to harmony.
On the other hand, the Christian Democratic Union achieved a historic success in the state parliamentary elections held in Schleswig Holstein, the northernmost state in Germany, last week, increasing its votes by 11 points to 43.4 percent. Having suffered a historic defeat in that election, the SPD lost 11 points compared to the previous election and became the third party, receiving 16 percent of the votes.
The main loser of the election is Olaf Scholz
In the analysis and comments made after the two state elections, which were seen as a barometer for the coalition led by the SPD and Olaf Scholz, which came to the government in Berlin with the general elections held last autumn, it is emphasized that the main loser of the elections was Olaf Scholz, due to his long abstention on the Russia-Ukraine war.
It is commented that there has been a distance in the German public against Scholz, who is also often the target of international criticism due to Germany’s failure to end its ongoing dependence on Russian oil and gas and its failure to act aggressively on arms guarantees to Ukraine, and this is reflected in the votes of the SPD.
In the analyzes, it is noteworthy that issues such as high inflation, cost of living, energy shortage and high energy prices also affect the choice of the voters and that the responsibility for these is placed on the person sitting in the first row of the government. and forcing Scholz to take faster action in support of Ukraine.
Prime Minister Scholz, who has to hold the support of his party’s anti-war pacifist wing and manage a tripartite coalition at the same time, did not go to Kiev despite the invitation of Ukrainian President Zelensky, while Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock from the Greens visited Ukraine last week. displayed as. It is estimated that the change in domestic political balances in Germany over the Ukraine war initiated by Russia will be reflected more intensely on the political debates in Berlin in the coming weeks.