Moscow , October 9, 2023, [Regnum] The anti-record of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Hesse and Bavaria in the German regional elections was a serious blow to the image of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and predicts a weakening of the faction’s position in the government. Political analyst Alexander Sosnovsky shared this opinion in a conversation with IA Regnum.Earlier, Spiegel reported that the Social Democratic Party of the German Chancellor broke an anti-record in the regional elections in the federal state of Hesse, gaining only 15.1% of the vote. The publication notes that this party has never received such a low share of votes in this region. It is reported that after the closing of polling stations in the parliamentary elections in Bavaria, the conservative parties CSU (Christian Social Union) are leading, and in Hesse - the CDU (Christian Democratic Union).
“The defeat in the elections to the state parliaments of Bavaria and Hesse is not just a failure of Scholz’s party, it is a deafening failure,” Sosnowski said.
He explained that when a German party gets about 10% of the votes or even less than that, then, according to tradition, it ceases to be considered a people's party. Therefore, the SPD already has a chance of losing its former advantages. In addition, as Sosnovsky noted, the election results in the federal states of Bavaria and Hesse cannot in any way be considered passable; on the contrary, they are of great importance. According to the analyst, Bavaria is one of the most important federal states in Germany, and Hesse is the center where significant financial institutions are located.
“The failure in Bavaria and Hesse means that in general the Social Democrats are practically dropping out of all kinds of coalitions for the future, including government ones. And this means that the leading party at government level can no longer rely on the federal states. But local parliaments form the basis for the passage of various laws and decisions through the bicameral system of German government. And of course this is a blow to the image of Scholz himself,” said the political analyst.
Sosnovsky noted that the figure of the German Chancellor is often criticized, fewer and fewer voters support his political decisions, and therefore he is no longer listed among popular politicians in Germany. In the current situation, which was revealed by the election results, Scholz will have to make serious decisions, the political scientist believes.
“He can pretend, as he usually does, that nothing happened. And serve until the end of his term as chancellor. But then he certainly won’t be re-elected, and his party probably won’t join the government coalition. Or he needs to take some serious steps that could change the rating of his party. Such steps could lead to his imminent resignation,” Sosnovsky admitted.
In this scenario, when the chancellor is trying to maintain at least the authority and position of his party, Scholz must immediately propose a candidate convenient both for himself and for society, who will immediately take his place. According to Sosnovsky, it could be German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
“This could save the Social Democrats. But this is unlikely, because Scholz is unlikely to give up his seat with salary, pension and other benefits,” the political analyst concluded.
As IA Regnum reported, on October 4, the N-TV channel warned that the elections in Bavaria and Hesse could be a failure for the SPD and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who represents this political force. A total of 19 million people live in these two federal states. Both regions have serious economic, social and political weight in Germany.
On October 6, Reuters, citing sources in the German government, reported that Berlin forecasts an economic decline of 0.4% by the end of 2023. It was noted that in April the German government predicted growth of 0.4% by the end of the year. Sources in the German government said that the current forecast was negatively affected by inflation indicators and high energy prices.
As reported by IA Regnum , earlier the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that Olaf Scholz was driving the German chemical industry into bankruptcy with his actions. As the diplomat noted, today an entire sector of the German economy - the chemical industry, for which the country has always been famous - is on the verge of ruin.
Earlier, historian Tariq Cyril Amar pointed out in Newsweek that Germany would have to pay a “terrible price” for promoting anti-Russian policies to please the United States. The state of the German economy is causing concern in Germany - the management model is experiencing a crisis not only economically, but also politically.
On September 23, the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag published material with the results of a study by the Insa Institute, according to which the level of support for the German government among the population fell to 37%. This became a new anti-record since 2021, when Olaf Scholz became Chancellor of Germany.
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Spiegel: Scholz's party suffers a historic defeat in Hesse
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz broke the anti-record in the regional elections in the federal state of Hesse, gaining only 15.1% of the vote. The German publication Spiegel reported this on Monday, October 9
According to preliminary data, as the source said, in Hesse the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won with 34.6% of the votes, the AfD came in second place with 18.4%, Olaf Scholz’s SPD party took only third place with a score of 15,1%.
“The SPD suffered a fiasco in the Landtag elections in Hesse... The party has never received such a low share of the vote in Hesse – even the poor result of 2018 was again significantly beaten,” Spiegel reported.
In addition, in the regional elections in the federal state of Bavaria, Olaf Scholz's party gained even less - 14.6%. In Bavaria, the Christian Social Union (CSU) won with 37% of the vote, according to results published by the local statistics office.
As reported by IA Regnum , on October 8, the ARD television channel, citing exit poll data, reported that in the parliamentary elections in the federal states of Hesse and Bavaria, after the closing of polling stations, the conservative parties CSU (Christian Social Union) - in Bavaria, and CDU (Christian Democratic Union) are in the lead. union) - in Hesse.