Everyone Loses in Germany Voters in state elections effectively choose ‘none of the above.’
https://www.wsj.com/articles/everyone-loses-in-germany-11567445967
European elections these days are generally contests between a beleaguered mainstream and insurgent alternatives. Voters in two German states on Sunday chose a form of “none of the above” as the country stumbles out of the Angela Merkel era.
The biggest vote-getters were the main parties of the center. Mrs. Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) came out on top in Saxony, a state they’ve governed since 1990. The center-left Social Democrats (SPD), with whom Mrs. Merkel maintains an awkward coalition at the national level, are on track to maintain their long-time control in Brandenburg.
Yet both parties emerged with diminished support. The CDU’s share in Saxony fell to 32% from above 39% in 2014, while the SPD’s Brandenburg total dropped to 26% from 32%. The result raises new questions about Mrs. Merkel’s preferred successor to lead the CDU and the country, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who doesn’t excite voters anywhere. It also accentuates the crisis of confidence afflicting the leaderless SPD, which can’t decide whether its national coalition with Mrs. Merkel is hurting or helping its fortunes.
The alternatives also underperformed expectations. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party did increase its vote totals to 27.5% in Saxony and 23.5% in Brandenburg from 10% and 12% five years ago, respectively. But this is unlikely to be a harbinger of national success, even if the AfD is currently the largest opposition party in the national parliament.
The AfD’s base is in former East German states such as those that voted Sunday, and the party mainly attracts voters who once supported the former Communists in the Left Party as a protest vote. It has yet to show it can broaden its appeal geographically or to larger numbers of centrist voters.
That perhaps leaves the Greens. The party did surprisingly well Sunday outside its Western, urban comfort zone, largely by attracting disaffected CDU and SPD voters who want centrist policies but fresher political faces. But “well” still means relatively small vote tallies of 8.6% in Saxony and 10.8% in Brandenburg, suggesting limits on its support.
This is an indictment of Germany’s ruling class, and especially the suffocating centrism of Mrs. Merkel and her left-right coalition in Berlin. With an economic downturn possible and echoes of the 2015 migration crisis still reverberating, voters seem eager for change. They’re still seeking parties or leaders who can deliver the change they want.
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