You have to look longer for the election result because it is usually hidden among the “others”. The pan-European party Volt received around one percent of the vote in the state elections in Hesse. Even among the “others” it is not ahead; the animal protection party got half a percentage point more. Daniel Weber finds it disappointing that the result was not higher. He is Volt’s city lead in Wiesbaden, which corresponds to the position of a party chairman. But the Hessian state chairwoman Carina König at least has an explanation for second place among the little ones: “Animal protection has an emotional moment.”
However, Volt cannot be dismissed as “meaningless”. Unlike the Animal Protection Party, Volt has a say in full-time politics in the Rhine-Main area. In Frankfurt, the largest city in Hesse, she and Eileen O’Sullivan are the head of the department for citizens, digital and international affairs, in the state capital Wiesbaden her colleague Maral Koohestanian is responsible for smart cities, order and statistics, and in Darmstadt city councilor Holger Klötzner is responsible for digitalization and school.
“We achieved a good result”
The meager state election results do not seem to match the presence at the top of important cities. Although one could say that Volt has achieved its political goal. “We have set ourselves a goal of one percent,” says Grit Winkler, Frankfurt City Lead. The fact that 0.98 percent was rounded to the full percent is not politically significant, but it is financially significant. The state partial financing of the parties of 0.83 euros per state vote, which replaced the previous reimbursement of campaign costs, is only reported by exactly one percent of the valid votes. That’s 550 missing.
Maral Koohestanian is head of the Smart City, Order and Statistics department in Wiesbaden. : Image: Volt Group Wiesbaden
You can’t run an elaborate election campaign for 23,000 euros from the state. “We have to be present,” says Winkler, explaining why Volt stood for the state election. The party had to concentrate on the cities and metropolitan areas. In only 13 of the 55 constituencies did she run with direct candidates. “We have 430 volunteer members throughout Hesse,” says state chairwoman König. “We achieved a good result and doubled that of the federal election.” A success story at a low level.
From the point of view of Martin Huber, Volt parliamentary group leader in Frankfurt, the threshold clause of five percent is not just a formal hurdle for small parties. “Many voters are therefore afraid of wasting their vote.” This particularly applies to past election campaigns that were characterized by major issues, says König: “When it comes to preventing a particular Chancellor, people ask themselves what can be done with a vote happened for volts.”
Peak value of 5.6 percent in Darmstadt
There is no barrier clause in local elections. Two years ago, Volt received 3.8 percent of the vote in Wiesbaden and 3.7 percent in Frankfurt. In the end, the three seats in the state capital and four in the larger Frankfurt city parliament were enough to form new majorities. The cooperation with the Greens, SPD and Left in Wiesbaden and the coalition in Frankfurt with the Greens, SPD and FDP in turn provided Volt with the full-time position. In both cities, Volt also scored 2.5 percent better than the national average in the state elections.
City councilor Holger Klötzner is responsible for digitalization and schools in Darmstadt. : Image: Volt
From Volt’s point of view, the university city of Darmstadt can be considered a real stronghold. There the party entered into a coalition with the Greens and the CDU. After 6.9 percent in the local elections, the 5.6 percent in the state elections was the top value for Volt in Hesse. The team there is very strong, says Frankfurt city leader Winkler. The Volt department head’s candidacy for mayor at the beginning of the year also attracted attention. Klötzner came in fifth place among the ten candidates in Darmstadt.
High hopes for the European elections
“There were parties that didn’t take us seriously back then,” says Weber, who is also deputy parliamentary group leader in Wiesbaden, about the situation after the local elections. In cooperation with the Greens, SPD and Left, however, the partners worked on an equal footing. Weber would have preferred a loose collaboration. “But I became aware of how difficult it is to develop politics.” This is also due to the administration. The Frankfurt parliamentary group leader Huber speaks of weighing up “idealistic demands” and “real politics”. “We thought it through carefully.” After all, it was a big leap to come to the city parliament as newcomers and then immediately take on responsibility. “You could say we did a lot with the share of votes,” he says about filling a department.
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In addition to the appropriate distribution of seats after local elections, party political openness also plays a role in the prominent position in the cities. The Greens are the only constant element of Volt’s cooperation partners, which otherwise range from the Left to the SPD and FDP to the CDU. “We have a pragmatic approach,” says state chairwoman König, explaining the reasons. “We take what we need.” Weber also doesn’t want to be put in a political corner, as the Wiesbaden opposition likes to do with the term “Left Alliance”. “I’m rather liberal myself.” Volt doesn’t want to solve problems ideologically. “That’s why it works so well.”
Volt has high hopes for the European elections next year. “That is our expertise,” says König. Volt is running as a pan-European party and is committed to institutional reforms. However, with the aim of a united Europe with a federal democracy. Until then, the state chairwoman hopes that more district associations will be formed in Kassel and Marburg, but also throughout the area, in order to reduce the urban-rural divide in Volt. The European elections have another advantage: there is no five percent threshold.
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