Status: 05/15/2023 4:32 p.m
According to official projections, the SPD clearly overtook the CDU as the strongest party in the general election in Bremen. The losers of the evening are the Greens, top candidate Maike Schaefer announced her withdrawal. Citizens in Anger increased significantly. Top politicians from the SPD, CDU and FDP commented on NDR Info after the election.
According to the ninth and last projection by the state election authority from early Monday afternoon, the SPD is ahead with 30.1 percent – it was able to significantly improve its historically poor result from 2019 (24.9 percent). The CDU comes to 25.0 percent (2019: 26.7). The Greens slip to 12.0 percent (2019: 17.4). With 11.1 percent, the left achieved a similar result as in 2019 (11.3). According to the extrapolation, the FDP only just narrowly re-enters the state parliament with 5.2 percent (2019: 5.9). Citizens in anger (BiW) make the biggest leap – they increase to 9.7 percent (2019: 2.4). The provisional end result election in Bremen is expected on Wednesday.
Citizens in anger in Bremerhaven second strongest force
In contrast, all constituencies in Bremerhaven were already counted on Monday. There they are Bürger in Wut (BiW) has become the second strongest force behind the SPD. Accordingly, the SPD got the most votes with 29 percent. The BiW reached 22.7 percent, just ahead of the CDU with 21.3 percent. The FDP managed 5.2 percent in Bremerhaven. This means that the FDP will get into the Bremen parliament, even if it falls below the five percent hurdle when the votes are counted in the city of Bremen. The Greens landed in Bremerhaven with 13.2 percent of the votes, the left reached 6.1 percent. Voter turnout was 44 percent.
First personnel consequence: Schaefer announces withdrawal
After her party lost a lot of votes in the election, Greens top candidate Maike Schaefer resigned on Monday her withdrawal from the Senate. “As the top candidate, I am drawing the conclusion from this result yesterday and will no longer be available as a senator for the coming legislative period,” said the former environment and mobility senator.
Klingbeil: “Bovenschulte worked it out”
In an interview with NDR Info, SPD national chairman Lars Klingbeil explained his party’s success in Bremen with the SPD’s top candidate, who was very well received locally. “Andreas Bovenschulte has developed this over the past few years,” said Klingbeil. In addition, the Bremen SPD was closed and had focused on the right issues. The federal SPD will also gain votes again in the long term, said Klingbeil.
Prien for grand coalition in Bremen
The Bremen CDU did not get through with their topics, said the deputy CDU federal chairman and Schleswig-Holstein Minister of Education Karin Prien on NDR Info about the losses of her party. In addition, in all state elections it depends on how the top candidates are doing. “There was a very strong and popular mayor here who did a good job during the pandemic.” Prien spoke out in favor of a grand coalition in Bremen. After the Greens’ losses, that was a reasonable solution.
AUDIO: Prien: Bremen’s CDU did not get through with their issues (6 min)
Kubicki: FDP’s main goal achieved
“I’m happy and in good spirits that the Free Democrats in Bremen will be back in the parliament,” said deputy FDP party leader Wolfgang Kubicki on Monday morning on NDR Info. Getting into the citizenship, which according to the extrapolation was just about successful, was the main goal. With a view to the results of the FDP in the state elections in Bremen and in the local elections in Schleswig-Holstein, Kubicki said: “If we are not arrested for the positions of the Greens and Social Democrats, but document what solutions the Free Democrats are proposing, then we will also get approval .”
AUDIO: Kubicki: “The FDP’s change of strategy has paid off” (5 min)
Bovenschulte: “The election campaign was worth it”
Bremen’s head of government and SPD top candidate Andreas Bovenschulte had already emphasized on the evening of the election that he saw his party as the clear winner. “What a day, what a result. We fought a tough election campaign together and it was worth it,” said Bovenschulte. “The number one in Bremen – that’s us!”
In the opinion of its state chairman Reinhold Wetjen, the SPD “achieved all goals” in the election. “We’re the strongest force, no one can rule without us and we’ve grown a lot,” said Wetjen. In the course of the week he wants to make his party a proposal for exploratory talks. There are “good reasons” for a continuation of red-green-red and for a possible grand coalition with the CDU.
Even the incumbent mayor, Bovenschulte, has not yet committed himself to a government alliance. “We will superimpose the election programs and the demands and substantive positions and see: where are the most similarities?” said the top candidate in the “daily topics” in the first. It will be looked at which coalition is best suited to solving the future problems of Bremen and Bremerhaven. There are great similarities with the previous coalition partners Greens and Left, but also with the CDU. Bovenschulte had previously expressed concern about the double-digit performance of the right-wing populist party Bürger in anger: “That gives cause for concern.”
Schwesig: “People’s trust well deserved”
The reactions from the North to the SPD electoral success in the smallest federal state were mostly positive on the evening of the election. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s SPD and head of government, Manuela Schwesig, rated the result as an expression of the good work done by her party colleague and the SPD in Bremen. “With reliability and a clear course for a strong economy, good work and social cohesion, Andreas Bovenschulte and his SPD have earned the trust of the people and are the strongest force with significant growth,” she explained. She is looking forward to continued good cooperation in the association of the northern countries.
Because: “Result not a matter of course”
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) sees his party friend’s crisis management as one reason for the increase in votes in the Bremen elections. “Andreas Bovenschulte achieved great personal success with the result,” he said. Bovenschulte has guided Bremen safely through the past difficult years. People would have appreciated that. “In view of the current crises, such a result cannot be taken for granted and shows the deep roots of the SPD in Bremen society,” said Weil.
Tschentscher: Bovenschulte “reliable partner”
Hamburg’s Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) paid tribute to his party colleague in Bremen after his victory as a crisis manager. “After four years of good government work in difficult times, the SPD is again the strongest political force in Bremen. Andreas Bovenschulte has guided the Hanseatic city safely through the corona pandemic and the energy crisis,” he said. The mayor of Bremen is “a reliable partner in the cooperation between the city states and the northern German states,” said Tschentscher.
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Günther: “Unfortunately it wasn’t enough”
Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) regretted the performance of his party in Bremen. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to emerge again as the strongest force in the Bremen state elections,” he said. “Bremen is not an easy place for the CDU.” Bovenschulte successfully used his personal popularity to decouple the Social Democrats in the Hanseatic city from the negative national trend. “It is now up to him to hold talks about a government that will give Bremen more momentum,” said Günther.
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2023-05-15 15:36:21
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