Monday, July 30, 2018

The SPD/Green Party Dilemma

Polling over the past two years for the German political landscape shows one remarkable thing unfolding.  SPD voters are pausing and reflecting over the future, and they seem to be leaving the SPD voter pattern.

Presently, the SPD has slipped enough to be around 18-percent.  Remember, this was the political party that took 38-percent of the national vote in the 2005 national election.  Over half of their voters have walked away since then.

Where'd they go?  Well....mostly to the Green Party.  The Greens today are pulling around the 13-to-14 percent level....a fair level from the 5.4-percent that they had in 2005.

If you go into Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg (both southern states of Germany)....the SPD has lost a fair amount of favor while the Greens have made bold gains.

So, where does this go for the next decade?  I would suggest that the SPD will level out at some point near 10-percent.  The Greens, in my humble view, will likely rise up to the 22-percent level.  A lot of this has to do with regional emphasis, and attraction to young people.....which the SPD doesn't seem to be having much luck.

A big deal?  If you had suggested back in 1985....this type of gain for the Greens.....people would have laughed.  Yet here we are.

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