Germany: the CDU wins the parliamentary elections in Saxony-Anhalt

Parliamentary elections were held on 20 March in Saxony-Anhalt, a federal state in the east of Germany. This was the second of the seven local elections schedule for 2011 in Germany. As forecasted, the election was won by the party which had co-governed this state for nine years. This victory is a good sign for the Christian Democrats before what they see as the most important election in Baden-Württemberg on 27 March.

The CDU’s victory (with the support of 32.5% of the votes, which was 3.7 % lower than in 2006) means that it will again be entrusted with the task of forming the government coalition, for the second time with the Social Democrats, who have won 21.5% of the votes (an increase of 0.1%). The Left Party, the second largest political force in most eastern German federal states, received 23.7% of the votes (a fall of 0.7%), however, the Social Democrats, who are its only potential coalition partner, have refused to participate in a government in which they would be the less important partner of the Left Party. The Green Party will enter the parliament of Saxony-Anhalt for the first time in thirteen years (7.1% of the votes). In turn, the level of support for the liberal FDP was as low as 3.8% (thus it failed to reach the 5% election threshold).

The result of the elections in Saxony-Anhalt proves that residents of this federal state (one of the poorest in Germany) are satisfied with the previous government’s work. The CDU/SPD coalition has contributed to an improvement in the economic situation: a lower unemployment level, faster growth, and reversing the negative demographic trends and a return of people who have emigrated from this federal state for economic reasons.

However, the elections in Saxony-Anhalt are not so important for the central government (CDU/CSU/FDP) as the elections in Rhineland-Palatinate and especially in Baden-Württemberg, due to be held on 27 March, where the CDU may find it impossible to form a government coalition and lose power after nearly 60 years of ruling this state, despite the forecasts predicting its victory. <zawil>