Hamburg election: AfD enters first parliament in West Germany, CDU at record low
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Version 0 of 1. 1. As expected, the SPD emerged as the largest party in Hamburg’s state election this weekend. The social democrats have ruled Hamburg almost continually since World War II. Despite the clear victory, with 58 seats the party has lost its absolute majority and Mayor Olaf Scholz will need to form a coalition. Here’s the result: SPD 45.7% (58 seats)CDU 15.9% (20)Greens 12.2% (15)LINKE 8.5% (11)FDP 7.4% (9)AfD 6.1% (8) And the change in percentage points since 2011’s election: Voter turnout was 56.6%, only marginally down on the previous 57.3%. 2. The CDU’s 15.9% is a record low for the party in Hamburg. And its third worst result ever - even lower than the 1951 and 1959 Bremen state elections when the party won 9% and 14.8% of the vote respectively. 3. The AfD won seats in a state parliament in West Germany for the first time. The party had previously parliaments in the eastern states of Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg - all in elections held last year. Support for the anti-euro party has come from across the political spectrum. However, it hit the CDU’s prospects particularly hard. 4. The liberal FDP polled above the 5% threshold needed to win seats for the first time in a state election since 2013. Votes for the party primarily came from many that in 2011 had supported Angela Merkel’s CDU. At a federal level the FDP has been consistently polling below 5% ever since failing to make the cut at the 2013 general election. The party did though hit the threshold for the first time in a year in one Forsa poll published earlier this month. The liberal party will be hoping that Sunday’s result is the beginning of a reversal in its fortunes. Images and data via ARD/Infratest Dimap. |