https://sputnikglobe.com/20230213/social-democrats-defeat-in-berlin-election-bad-omen-for-chancellor-scholz---expert-1107388109.html
Social Democrats' Defeat in Berlin Election 'Bad Omen' for Chancellor Scholz - Expert
Social Democrats' Defeat in Berlin Election 'Bad Omen' for Chancellor Scholz - Expert
Sputnik International
Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party's (SPD) "catastrophic" result in the latest Berlin state election and the "resounding" victory of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are bad signs for the German leadership, Armin-Paulus Hampel, a former Bundestag member and geopolitical analyst, told Sputnik.
2023-02-13T21:53+0000
2023-02-13T21:53+0000
2023-02-13T21:46+0000
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europe
germany
elections
olaf scholz
social democratic party of germany (spd)
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On Sunday, a repeat state election took place in Berlin, less than two years after the original vote, which a court declared invalid due to irregularities. According to exit polls, the CDU won the election, securing over 28% of the votes. The SPD lost for the first time since 1999, scoring just 18.4%, followed by the Green Party, the SPD's junior coalition partner, which came in just 105 votes behind the Social Democrats. "At federal level, the catastrophic result of the Socialists (SPD), the party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at the election in Berlin is a bad result for the 'traffic light' coalition (red, yellow, green) though the Green results compensate for the SPD loss and the FDP tiny results," the expert said.Hampel, who is also a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, argued that one of the reasons for such a result is that the SPD grass roots members have been closer to Russian positions than to American ones since the days of Willy Brandt, SPD Mayor of Berlin and Chancellor of West Germany in 1970s, who was also the architect of detente with the Soviet Union. "All the hesitations of Scholz about weapons to Ukraine, have to do with his fear of antagonizing the base of the SPD. Deciding as Chancellor against the majority in one's party is not a good recipe for leadership," Hampel added. The German geopolitical analyst noted the decisive victory of the opposition CDU came as a surprise "in the left-leaning city of Berlin," but its criticism of the current government's policy on a number of urgent issues resonated with the voters. At the same time, the expert said the defeat of the SPD was not a sign of a crisis for the Left as most of the SPD voters just moved to the younger and more strident Green part. The current left-leaning coalition of the SPD, the Greens and The Left party can still stay in power in Berlin, according to Hampel. In September 2021, the SPD won the state election in Berlin and formed a ruling coalition with the Greens and The Left. In November 2022, the Berlin constitutional court declared the election results invalid due to the numerous irregularities found during the voting and ordered a rerun.
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Social Democrats' Defeat in Berlin Election 'Bad Omen' for Chancellor Scholz - Expert
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party's (SPD) "catastrophic" result in the latest Berlin state election and the "resounding" victory of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are bad signs for the German leadership, Armin-Paulus Hampel, a former Bundestag member and geopolitical analyst, told Sputnik.
On Sunday, a repeat state election took place in Berlin, less than two years after the original vote, which a court declared invalid due to irregularities. According to exit polls, the CDU won the election, securing over 28% of the votes. The SPD lost for the first time since 1999, scoring just 18.4%, followed by the Green Party, the SPD's junior coalition partner, which came in just 105 votes behind the Social Democrats.
"At federal level, the catastrophic result of the Socialists (SPD), the party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at the election in Berlin is a bad result for the 'traffic light' coalition (red, yellow, green) though the Green results compensate for the SPD loss and the FDP tiny results," the expert said.
"For Chancellor Olaf Scholz, it is a very bad omen. This election in Berlin and the resounding victory of the CDU won't give him the statesmanship he desperately needs in Europe. He seems permanently hesitant, at best."
Hampel, who is also a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, argued that one of the reasons for such a result is that the SPD grass roots members have been closer to Russian positions than to American ones since the days of Willy Brandt, SPD Mayor of Berlin and Chancellor of West Germany in 1970s, who was also the architect of detente with the Soviet Union.
"All the hesitations of Scholz about weapons to Ukraine, have to do with his fear of antagonizing the base of the SPD. Deciding as Chancellor against the majority in one's party is not a good recipe for leadership," Hampel added.
20 November 2022, 09:35 GMT
The German geopolitical analyst noted the decisive victory of the opposition CDU came as a surprise "in the left-leaning city of Berlin," but its criticism of the current government's policy on a number of urgent issues resonated with the voters.
"The CDU campaigned on security and other issues defended by the Right and it gives a warning to the federal coalition. Berliners, like all Germans are not happy with the soaring prices of energy and food, with security and drug-related problems, with inflation and loss of buying power, and the Ukraine crisis plays a role too," Hampel said.
At the same time, the expert said the defeat of the SPD was not a sign of a crisis for the Left as most of the SPD voters just moved to the younger and more strident Green part. The current left-leaning coalition of the SPD, the Greens and The Left party can still stay in power in Berlin, according to Hampel.
"The big loser [of the Berlin election] is the SPD that sees its voters leave in droves for the younger Green party. The dark clouds won't go away anytime soon for Chancellor Scholz," Hampel concluded.
In September 2021, the SPD won the state election in Berlin and formed a ruling coalition with the Greens and The Left. In November 2022, the Berlin constitutional court declared the election results invalid due to the numerous irregularities found during the voting and ordered a rerun.
