Political situation in Germany

The Greens become the largest party as German super election year begins

The Greens become the largest party in the state election in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. With 30.2 percent of the vote, the party is slightly larger than Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic CDU on 29.7, German media report.

The Greens' top candidate, Cem Özdemir, has profiled his party as a business-friendly center party. The ideology is sometimes described as green conservatism, according to Ekot. The election in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg is the first of five state elections this year, making it a super election year in Germany.

Dramatic shifts also took place further down the field. The right-wing radical AfD doubled its support to 18.8 percent while the social democratic SPD collapsed to 5.5 percent. According to Der Spiegel, it is the social democratic party's worst state election since the end of the war.

Social Democrats shocked by poor figures: “Catastrophe”

A mood of shock prevails in the German Social Democrats after Sunday’s major defeat in the local elections in Baden-Württemberg. Only 5.5 percent of the vote means a halving since the last time and a historic fiasco, reports Bild.

Behind the figures lies a worrying pattern, namely that workers at companies such as Bosch and Mercedes have made the pilgrimage from the SPD to the far-right AfD party.

In advance, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil had expected a weak result, but not such a defeat, writes Der Spiegel.

– Much worse than expected. A complete disaster, says a party member.

Analysis: Muslim vegetarian attracted right-wing voters

The opportunities lie in the middle for Germany’s environmental party The Greens – the electoral triumph in the state elections in Baden-Württemberg proves this. Felix Hackenbruch writes in an analysis in Tagesspiegel.

The front-runner Cem Özdemir, of Turkish origin, proved everyone wrong with a mad dash. He won over 30 percent of the vote by positioning himself in the middle and speaking to a broad target group, Hackenbruch writes.

“The conservative voters in Baden-Württemberg have put their trust in a Muslim vegetarian.”

The victory offers the party in crisis a chance for a fresh start, he continues. At the same time, the recipe for success is difficult to copy: Özdemir focused mostly on himself and barely mentioned his party.

The Greens did not win the election, writes Christoph Hickmann in Der Spiegel. Özdemir did not win thanks to, but in spite of, his party membership, and at times it almost seemed as if he wanted to keep his party affiliation a secret during the election campaign. The Greens must realize this, continues Hickmann. Only by bringing Özdemir “into the spotlight” can the party benefit from him.

Several other analyses focus on the fact that the ruling parties in Berlin, the Christian Democratic CDU and the Social Democratic SPD, were disappointed by the election results.