The Greens secured 30.3% of votes in Baden-Württemberg’s state election, narrowly defeating the CDU which received 29.7%.
Election Results
The Greens won on Sunday the elections to the parliament of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, obtaining 30.3% of the votes. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) came in second with 29.7%, followed by the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 18.7%. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) also entered the Baden-Württemberg parliament with 5.5%. The liberal FDP (4.4%) and The Left (4.4%), however, did not cross the electoral threshold. These are the results after counting over 99.5% of all votes.
Parliamentary Composition
In the Baden-Württemberg parliament, the Greens will have 57 deputies, CDU 56, AfD 35, and SPD 10. The Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg will be Cem Özdemir, representing the Greens. The politician will likely head the Green-CDU coalition, which has governed the state since 2016.
Coalition Prospects
The 60-year-old Özdemir, who has Turkish roots, has had a rich political career. Among other positions, he has been a federal education minister, a Member of the European Parliament, and leader of the Greens. In the post-election night, Özdemir called on the CDU to cooperate and maintain the coalition with the Greens. The CDU leader in this state, Manuel Hagel, simultaneously ruled out the possibility of being elected Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg with AfD support.
AfD Response
The AfD leader in Baden-Württemberg, Markus Frohnmaier, assessed that the vote showed that voters want a change of course. – One thing is clear, Baden-Württemberg wants a conservative majority – he stated in an interview with ZDF. The AfD in the state nearly doubled its result from five years ago, when it received 9.7% of the votes. Party leader Alice Weidel spoke of success on Sunday.
Political Analysis
Considering that just a few months ago, the CDU’s lead over the Greens in polls in Baden-Württemberg was even several percentage points, the result is considered disappointing for the Christian Democrats. In initial comments, the dpa agency writes about a “humiliating defeat,” while the “Sueddeutsche Zeitung” about a “shock in CDU that will reach Berlin.” The elections in Baden-Württemberg, the first of five this year at the federal state level, were considered an important test of the popularity of CDU Chancellor Friedrich Merz after nearly a year of his government in Berlin.
