Thursday, January 3, 2019

Brandenburg Story

Coming up in 2019 (in the fall) is a state election in Brandenburg.  It used to be that these state elections weren't much of a big deal except in the German state where the election was held.  But with several parties in chaos, these state elections now say something about the future of politics in Germany.

So, there is this poll (by the Forsa folks who tend to be reliable) in Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung.  It suggests right now, the SPD Party (which won the last election five years ago), is at 20-percent (losing 12 points off the past election.

The CDU?  Just a point behind at 19 percent, and the Linke Party at 17 percent.

The party that picked up a lot of votes since 2014?  AfD, sitting there with 20 percent of the votes and equal to the SPD.

So this brings up the problem of a coalition situation, and the odds that a three-party (normally difficult to accomplish) situation will have to occur, if these results hold true for the fall state election.

The woes to this type of result?  It demonstrates how far that the SPD has fallen in the past decade, and the inability to really generate votes.  The public is disgruntled and frustrated. 

Then I come to this last observation....these numbers reflect upon a non-campaign period.  The politicians won't even go into hype or 'promises' for another three months.  It's possible that the CDU might edge upward, but it's just as likely that the AfD might find another four percent, and actually win the election (but be unable to forge a coalition). 

I post this as a reminder to folks to observe the political change underway in Germany, and these events often unfold with consequences. 

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