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Quick summary: The Green party secured a surprise victory in the Baden-Württemberg state election, a significant blow to the conservative CDU and center-left SPD. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) downplayed his party’s defeat, attributing it to the personal success of Green politician Cem Özdemir, who is set to lead a coalition with the conservatives. The SPD suffered a dramatic loss, while the far-right AfD doubled its vote share but was rejected by other parties. The FDP and Left party failed to enter the regional parliament.

The Green party achieved an unexpected win in the state election in Baden-Württemberg, the first of five regional elections scheduled for 2026. This outcome was a setback for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which had been confident of reclaiming its former stronghold. Despite a poll on election day showing over 70% of voters dissatisfied with federal government policies, Merz refrained from linking his party’s defeat to the federal government’s approach. He told journalists in Berlin that the victory was “primarily a personal victory for Cem Özdemir,” the Green politician who won the election by a narrow margin. Cem Özdemir, 60, is poised to become the new head of the state government, continuing a coalition with the conservatives. Özdemir, whose parents immigrated to Germany from Turkey in the 1960s, will be the first state premier in the Federal Republic’s history whose parents were not born in Germany. During his campaign, he distanced himself from some leftist Green positions, particularly on climate protection measures that could impact Baden-Württemberg’s crucial automotive industry. The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), a coalition partner with the conservatives in Berlin, experienced a “dramatic defeat” in Baden-Württemberg, securing only 5.5% of the vote. Party leader Bärbel Bas conceded that the party failed to effectively communicate its message to working-class voters. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) doubled its vote share from five years ago, reaching 18.8%, but still fell short of its own expectations. Both the CDU and the Greens in Baden-Württemberg have “categorically ruled out any cooperation” with the AfD. Meanwhile, the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) and the socialist Left party both failed to cross the 5% threshold required for representation in the regional parliament. The FDP had hoped to reenter parliament after dropping out of the federal Bundestag in the 2025 general election. Baden-Württemberg, with a population of over 11 million, is one of Germany’s economically strongest states, known for its automotive industry (including Porsche and Mercedes) and numerous family businesses. Attention now shifts to the next regional election in Rhineland-Palatinate, scheduled in two weeks, where the SPD is currently in power and pollsters anticipate a close contest between the SPD and CDU.

Source: www.dw.com