Reactions to state elections: “The union needs time on the opposition bench”

After the fall of the CDU in the two elections in the Southwest, the SPD feels governments without the Union, but the FDP is slowing down. The main politicians of the CDU see the cause of the loss of votes mainly in the management of the crisis of the crown.

The CDU’s historically poor results in state elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate have caused quite a stir in the Union. Many see Corona’s crisis management as the main reason its candidates have been so badly punished.

CDU Secretary General Paul Ziemiack said in ARD morning magazine, that Those responsible at the federal and state levels would now have to do everything possible to improve the crisis management of the crown. The current pandemic situation is depressing people, Ziemiak said. “We have to hit the gas with testing and vaccination,” he said. “This is something that moves people in Germany.”

The leadership of the SPD, for its part, is reinforced in its plan to achieve governments without the Union. “The fact that the traffic light is working well in Rhineland-Palatinate and that the voters in this state election have given it their confidence shows, first of all, that there are government majorities without the Conservatives,” said President Norbert Walter-Borjans of “Welt”. The CDU and CSU urgently need a “break on the opposition bench.”

“Wake-up call for the entire CDU”

Meanwhile, there is a rumble inside the CDU. Presidium member Norbert Röttgen expressed concern about the state of the party. He urged a quick reaction. “The results of the CDU in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate are a wake-up call for the entire CDU,” said Röttgen of the “Rheinische Post”.

“Time is essential, but there is still time to take concrete actions,” he emphasized. “The CDU as a whole must take countermeasures,” he said. Among other things, we must quickly and reliably demonstrate “that and how vaccination and testing are part of our strategy to combat pandemics.”

CSU insists on improvements

The vice chairman of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group, Carsten Linnemann, told the “world” that the CDU now finally had to prove that it could handle the crown. Education Minister Anja Karliczek insisted on greater team spirit and unity, especially in the fight against the pandemic. “All decisions must be taken as unanimously as possible. That is what the citizens of the Union expect at this time of pandemic,” he told the dpa news agency.

CSU Secretary General Blume called for quick improvements to Corona policy on the “Bild” newspaper’s webcast. “The election results are so bad that you can’t say: just go ahead,” Blume emphasized. That is not a criticism of the strategy of fighting the crown. But: “There is a lack of implementation.” CSU wants “to get us back on the road to success. To do that, you have to get some things done again.”

“Needs a vigorous renovation”

Six months before the federal elections, the power constellations to the exclusion of Christian Democrats are now coming into focus. Saskia Esken, co-leader of the SPD, announced at the ARD–Morning magazine He declared that the SPD would rule with the Union until the day of the Bundestag elections, but the goal of the election campaign was to make Olaf Scholz Chancellor. See the SPD well positioned. He made it clear that the formation of governments without the Union is possible and necessary.

The vice-president of the SPD, the federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil, also believes that a government without the Union is possible after the federal elections. “There are reliable and reasonable majorities beyond the conservatives. And that is good, because after the crisis we do not need conservatives clinging to the existing, we need a vigorous renovation,” Heil said on the Internet program “Bild live”.

“No shift to the left with the FDP”

FDP Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki, however, daunted hopes of a stoplight at the federal level. In view of the programmatic differences between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP, this is “quite unlikely”. “There will be no bans on home ownership, tax increases or property taxes with the Free Democrats,” Kubicki emphasized.

FDP Secretary General Volker Wissing was also cautious. State election results cannot simply be transferred to the federal government. “We want to rule, of course. But now you have to say: state policy and federal policy cannot be compared one by one. And it should be clear to everyone that there will be no left turn in Germany with the FDP,” he says Wissing in the ARD. When asked about the traffic light coalitions and, in particular, the scenario of a federal traffic light government led by the Greens, Wissing says: “First of all, this is not a plan for the federal government.”

“Much tailwind”

The strengthened Greens want to give climate protection a high priority when choosing the future coalition partner. “We want to implement this government mandate and achieve the best possible climate protection,” Verdes Federal Manager Michael Kellner said at the ARD morning magazine overlooking Baden-Württemberg.

Kellner described the election result as a “fantastic election result, to kneel on.” It means a lot of tailwind for the federal election campaign.